Sunday, January 31, 2010

Chicken Pasta Salad with Lemon & Dill Dressing

This is one of the most easiest recipes I think I have ever put together. In other words, this is a salad and a meal, all in one for a lazy night's dinner. This is also a great recipe for getting rid of any left over roast chicken or fish or even red meat. As I used a thick but moist dressing, the roasted (slightly dried) meat goes well with the recipe. There is one slight word of caution, if you are not a big fan of lemons/limes then this might not be the right salad for you. However, I am confident once you taste this you will fall in love with those little round juicy fruits for the first time!!!

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:
  • Pasta(any kind) - 500 gms(1 lb)
  • Leftover rotisserie chicken - 2 whole breast fillets

  • Dressing:
  • Mayonnaise - 1/2 cup
  • Plain yogurt - 2 tbsp
  • Fresh dill - 2 tbsp, chopped finely
  • Lemon juice - juice of 1 lemon
  • Salt & pepper - to taste
  • Hot sauce - to taste
  • Sweet pickle relish - 2 tbsp
  • Zest of 1 lemon.
Methods:
  • 1. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Make sure you salt the boiling water properly before adding the pasta, as this is the only time that the pasta will absorb any flavour. You can also cook the pasta in chicken or vegetable stock if you have them handy. Once cooked, drain the pasta and set aside. Save a little bit of the pasta water aside.
  • 2. Meanwhile, de-bone and tear the roast chicken into bite size pieces with your hands.
  • 3. In a large enough bowl to hold the salad in, whisk in all the ingredients for the dressing. Before squeezing out the juice of the lemon, zest the rind and also throw it in the dressing.
  • 4. Carefully stir in the chicken pieces in the dressing with a spatula. Be gentle enough not to break the chicken pieces in crumbs, since they will be very delicate as they are already cooked.
  • 5. Stir in the drained pasta to the chicken mixture. If the sauce seems too thick for the pasta to be stirred in, add a bit of the saved pasta water to thin it out a bit.
  • 6. Serve the delicious salad warm or even in room temperature.