Asparagus and Poached Chicken Salad
entrée for 6
the meat of 1 poached chicken or 2kg drumettes
2 bunches of thick stemmed (real) asparagus, tough ends snapped off, thinly sliced lengthwise
1 medium red onion, peeled and finely chopped
30g rinsed or drained capers
12 cornichons [approximately 50g], finely sliced
½ bunch dill, stalked, few sprigs reserved and rest chopped
6 hard boiled eggs, peeled, 4 sliced and 2 quartered
250g lemon mayonnaise
1 large cos, washed and dried, larger leaves broken up, smaller leaves left whole
Blanche the asparagus very quickly in boiling salted water with a little extra virgin olive oil. Drain and refresh under cold running water…dry on a clean cloth.
Just before serving, put everything except the quartered eggs and whole cos leaves into a bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper and mix gently. Using the small cos leaves to make the salad look attractive plate the dish and garnish with the quartered eggs and serve.
tip — we also make this into a Russian salad, adding cooked carrot dice, green peas, finely chopped blanched beans and replace the dill with tarragon and add a tablespoon of whole grain mustard to the base mayonnaise; we especially love the Beerenberg Hahndorf Hot Mustard because it adds the type of hot zing we love. The cos is not added to the salad and only used as an edible garnish underneath the salad…soil grown always has a better flavour.
