Recipe: Chicken Salad with Fennel Spice

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	Users > AngelaG > Michael Chiarello''s "Casual Cooking" > Soups & Salads > Chicken Salad with Fennel Spice

Chicken Salad with Fennel Spice

		Boiled Chicken:
1		chicken, about 3 1/2 pounds
1		large celery rib, halved
1		large carrot, halved
1		large yellow onion, quartered
2		bay leaves
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1/4 cup		thinly sliced celery heart
1/4		red onion, very thinly sliced
6 to 7 Tbs		extra-virgin olive oil
2 to 3 Tbs		fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp		Fennel Spice (page 00), or more to taste
		Sea salt, preferably gray salt, and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup		thinly sliced fresh basil

Prepare the chicken: Put the chicken, halved celery rib, carrot, yellow onion, and bay leaves in a pot just large enough to hold them comfortably. Add cold water to cover. Bring to a simmer, skimming any foam. Adjust the heat to maintain a bare simmer and cook, uncovered, for 1 hour. Remove from the heat and let cool in the liquid. Lift out the cooled chicken and strain the broth, discarding the solids. Refrigerate or freeze the chicken broth for another use.

Remove the skin and bones from the chicken. Shred the meat by hand into rough bite-size pieces.

In a large bowl, combine the shredded chicken, celery, red onion, 6 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons Fennel Spice, and salt and pepper to taste. Taste and add more oil, lemon juice, or Fennel Spice, if desired. Add the basil and serve.

Servings: 4

Recipe Type

Salad

Recipe Source

Rather than making chicken stock the restaurant way, with bony necks and backs, I'm fond of making a rich broth using a whole bird. Every so often, I'll make a batch and fill my freezer, leaving me with the dividend of a lot of poached chicken. I'll shred the moist meat by hand, combine it with celery heart and red onion, and dress the mixture liberally with my best olive oil, lemon juice, and--the secret ingredient--Fennel Spice. It couldn't be easier or better, but you could add some greens or radicchio to make it more substantial, or you could spoon the chicken over bruschetta.