On the eve of the holidays, many think about what can be put on the holiday table. Snacks on it always occupy a special place. Salads with chicken and carrots are easy to prepare and most often do not require hard-to-reach ingredients. What options can you come up with from these products?
Thai style option
This is an original salad with Korean carrots and smoked chicken. If you cook it in an Asian style, you can add any juicy fruit like papaya, but this is not necessary. Spicy carrots and young cabbage will be enough to make the taste of this snack unusual. Oriental notes will be added with lime and sesame, and cashews or peanuts add protein and healthy fats to the salad. This chicken and Korean carrot salad recipe requires the following ingredients:
1. For refueling:
- 2 garlic cloves, minced;
- 2 tbsp. l dry roasted salted peanuts or cashews;
- 2 small Thai chili peppers;
- 2 tbsp. l coconut sugar (or freeze dried maple syrup);
- a quarter cup of lime juice;
- 2 tbsp. l pineapple juice (optional, it is recommended for sweetness and smell);
- 1 tbsp. l tamari sauce (or soy).
2. For salad:
- 2 cups finely chopped Beijing cabbage, only leaves;
- 2 tsp sesame or olive oil;
- 2 tsp lime juice;
- 4 cups Korean carrots;
- a glass of diced pulp of mango or papaya;
- a quarter cup of thinly chopped red onions;
- a glass of finely chopped smoked chicken;
- half a glass of chopped fresh cilantro (optional).
Cooking Asian-style appetizer
Put the garlic, peanuts (or cashews) and chili in a mortar and grind with a pestle to make a paste. After that add coconut sugar and grind again.
Add lime juice, pineapple juice (optional) and tamari and mix to combine everything. Try and adjust the taste as needed by adding more coconut sugar for sweetness, tamari for salinity, lime juice for acid, or chopped chili for pungency. Set aside.
In a large bowl, add the cabbage and sprinkle with a small amount of olive or sesame oil and lime juice. Rub with your hands for 10-15 seconds to soften the leaves and remove part of the bitterness from them. Add chopped carrots, red onions, chicken and cilantro (optional). Then put the dressing and mix.
Serve immediately. If you want to serve the appetizer later, do not refuel it immediately. In this form, a salad with carrots and chicken can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Refueling can be prepared in advance, it is suitable for 5-7 days.
Useful Prescription Tips
Two garlic cloves allow you to get a tablespoon of chopped. You can use peanuts, cashews or a mixture of these nuts in the dressing.
Asian recipes often suggest adding juicy fruits to snacks. If you cannot purchase mango or papaya, you can add kiwi to a salad of Korean carrot and chicken.
Mexican version
This appetizer resembles Olivier, but with some notes of Asian cuisine. This chicken and carrot salad contains additional ingredients such as celery and apple. In total, you will need:
- 480 boiled chicken breast, diced;
- 240 grams of carrots, boiled and chopped;
- 400 grams of potatoes, cooked (boiled) and diced;
- 180 grams of finely chopped celery;
- 180 grams of canned sweet pea;
- 1 apple, peeled and diced;
- 1 cup mayonnaise;
- 1 bunch of parsley to decorate.
How is this dish prepared?
Place cooked and chopped chicken, potatoes, carrots, celery, sweet peas and an apple in a large bowl. Mix gently and add mayonnaise (carefully so as not to crush or rub soft vegetables).
Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for approximately 4 hours to allow flavors to blend. So the salad will become tastier.
Yogurt dressing option
This salad with chicken and carrots is cooked with nuts and grapes and seasoned with yogurt. Thus, the finished snack will turn out to be completely non-caloric. In total, you will need:
- 3 cups baked or boiled chicken, skinless, boneless, cut into small pieces;
- 2 glasses of red seedless grapes, cut in half;
- 3 medium stalks of celery, cut into small cubes (about one and a half glasses);
- 2 leeks, thinly chopped (about a quarter cup);
- a small carrot, cut into very small cubes (about half a glass);
- half a glass of chopped almonds, toasted;
- a glass of plain non-fat Greek yogurt;
- 2 tbsp. l skim milk;
- 2 tsp honey;
- 1 tsp kosher salt, plus optional to your taste;
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, plus more to your liking;
- 2 tbsp. l chopped fresh dill;
- for serving: whole grain toast, lettuce or crackers.
Cooking a light salad
Place the diced chicken, grapes, celery, carrots, leeks and almonds in a large bowl. In another bowl, mix Greek yogurt, milk, honey, salt and pepper. Pour dressing into a mixture of chicken and vegetables and mix. Try and add extra salt and pepper as desired. If time permits, refrigerate the salad for 2 hours or overnight.
When you are ready to serve the appetizer, sprinkle it with fresh dill. This salad can be used as a filling for sandwiches, spread on salad greens or crackers, or simply enjoy it directly from the salad bowl.
Cheese dressing option
This is an amazing salad with chicken, carrots and cucumbers, seasoned with a spicy cheese sauce. It is served on leafy greens. To cook it, you will need the following:
1. For the marinade:
- 1.5 kg chicken legs, cut into pieces;
- 1 / 4-1 / 2 cups of hot sauce (chili, tabasco, etc.);
- 2 tbsp. l natural honey;
- 3 tbsp. l unsalted butter;
- 1 tbsp. l lime juice;
- 1.5 tsp common salt;
- 1 tsp smoked paprika;
- 1 tsp chili powder.
2. For glaze:
- half a marinade prepared from the above components;
- 1 tbsp. l natural honey;
- 1.5 tsp starch.
3. For salad:
- 1 head romaine salad, chopped;
- 2 large carrots, chopped on a special grater with thin strips;
- 3 stalks of celery, chopped;
- 6 bunches of leeks (only the white part), cut into small pieces;
- one and a half glasses of cherry tomatoes, cut in half;
- 2 small cucumbers, cut into thin strips;
- 1 red pepper, sliced into thin strips.
4. For cheese dressing:
- half a glass of sour cream;
- half a glass of crumbled blue cheese;
- a quarter cup of mayonnaise;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 2 tbsp. l lime juice;
- 1.5 tsp common salt;
- 6 fresh sprigs of parsley.
Cooking Spicy Chicken Salad
Add the marinade ingredients to a small saucepan and heat until the butter has melted and everything is mixed. Cool to room temperature. Put pieces of chicken in a shallow dish and fill with half the marinade, mix evenly. Pickle should be in the refrigerator for 2 hours or all night.
Add honey and starch to the remaining marinade to make a glaze, and beat well. Bring to a slow boil over medium heat and continue cooking for about 5 minutes. The mixture should thicken noticeably. Set it aside.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and leave it for about half an hour at room temperature. Lay the pieces on a baking sheet in one layer and bake for 12-15 minutes or until tender. Add the icing to the chicken and mix to make it well coated. Allow to cool and soak.
At this time, place all the ingredients for the dressing in a jar and mix using a hand blender. Set aside.
Mix chopped salad, carrots, celery, leeks, bell peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes. Lay the chicken pieces on top and pour over cheese dressing.
If you prefer less pungency, use a quarter cup of hot sauce instead of half. You can also use less glaze at the end if the chicken is too sharp for your taste. Thanks to this salad with chicken, carrots and cheese will have a more delicate taste.
Option with walnuts and tarragon
Thanks to the addition of tarragon, this salad gets an exotic flavor. The combination of ingredients in it seems unusual, but in fact the dish is very tasty. So, to prepare a salad with carrots and smoked chicken, you will need:
- 600 grams of smoked chicken, cut into small pieces;
- a glass of walnuts, toasted and chopped;
- 1 stalk of celery, cut into thin slices (1 cup);
- 2 tbsp. l finely chopped shallots;
- half a glass of carrots, crushed on a special grater;
- half a glass of canned champignons, chopped, without liquid;
- 2 cups cut in half red seedless grapes;
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise;
- 3 tbsp. l tarragon vinegar;
- 2 tbsp. l finely chopped fresh tarragon;
- 1/2 tsp salts;
- 1/2 tsp black pepper.
Cooking Chicken Salad with Nuts
Combine all the solid salad ingredients in a large bowl until they are well combined. In a separate container, mix mayonnaise, tarragon and tarragon vinegar, pour this mixture on a salad with mushrooms, carrots and chicken and mix very well. Leave for some time in the refrigerator so that the aromas soak into each other.
To make tarragon vinegar, place several branches of this plant in a container with plain white vinegar (6%). Soak for at least 2 days, after which you can use a fragrant product.