curried chicken salad with homemade mayo

The other weekend, a gf & I were trying to head here for a late lunch, but it was 88 degrees that day, and the beach traffic was atrocious. We had to make a quick turn and come up with a new plan. At first I was a little bummed because I had been dying to try The Picnic Basket, as much of the ingredients are organic & locally sourced. We ended up at an amazing bakery instead, although I have not had their pastries in years, their deli does not disappoint! I had a delicious curried chicken salad in an avocado cup. I couldn’t stop thinking about how good it was when I got home, so I had to recreate it!

The key to this recipe is to chop your ingredients very tiny, so be prepared to be in the kitch for a while. I didn’t have any on hand, but this would be delicious on a bed of arugula with a lemony vinaigrette!

Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves – cooked & diced. I poached mine in chicken broth to make sure they were tender.
1/2 cup homemade mayonnaise (recipe below) or you can use a store bought paleo-friendly one.
1/4 cup dried apricots, finely diced
1/8 cup dried cranberries, finely diced
1/2 a small gala apple, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chives, minced
1/2 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 tablespoon green onion, finely chopped (white part only)
2 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon curry powder (mild)
salt + pepper to taste

1. In a large bowl, combine all above ingredients. Mix all together and adjust salt + pepper to taste!
2. Cut an avocado in half, remove the pit and top with chicken salad & serve!

Homemade Mayonnaise
My favorite mayo recipe is this one  from the NY Times Dining & Wine section.

Ingredients
One egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup mild-tasting olive oil

1. Into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade, place the egg yolk, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
2. While it’s running, add the olive oil to the insert. The insert should have a tiny little whole in it that will slowly drip the oil into the food processor. Leave the food processor running until all of the oil has completely dripped through. This emulsification process is key when making mayo. Trust me, the first time I ever made homemade mayo, I just poured the cup of olive oil right in with the ingredients and it just made a liquidy mess and not a mayo.
3. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.