There is a restaurant here that has the best chicken salad I've ever had....no, p.c locals, I don't mean Cahall's, although it's yummy too. Somethin's Cookin has a curried chicken salad that is by far my favorite thing on their menu:) Of course, I have tried my best to recreate it at home. And today I came pretty darn close:) I'm pretty sure their recipe contains mayo, as all chicken salad does, but mine actually has no mayo whatsoever. I made a homemade dressing that was even better to me than I could have hoped. If you're not fond of curry you could definitely leave it out, but personally, I love curry so it was happiness all around! Even my dad who is not a huge curry fan loved it! So that's sayin' somethin':)
1 lb. chicken breasts cut into chunks and cooked any way you like.(Ours was grilled the night before)
1 tbls. dijon mustard
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2c. sherry wine ( I simmered it on the stove for about 5 minutes to evaporate the alchohol)
1-3 tsp. curry powder(start with one, then add more to your liking. some curries are stronger than others)
1/4c. olive oil
3 tbls. raw cashews
Combine all ingredients, except chicken and cashews, in food processor(if you don't food process it, the olive oil will not emulsify) then add in cooked chicken. process until desired consistency. If you like your chicken salad chunky, just pulse a couple times. Add in cashews last so they just get a quick rough chop. We like ours spread on some socca bread:)But it's also fabulous on a balsamic salad as well:)
