Chicken Salad With Skordalia

By Mark Bittman

Updated October 16, 2023

Media 1 of 2
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(36)
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My approach to chicken salad was changed when I traveled to the Middle East and had a chicken salad bound with a distinctive "mayonnaise" that turned out to be a version of skordalia, the Greek dip. Like mayonnaise, skordalia will bind any cold minced meat or fish (and make a good sauce served with hot ones), but, unlike mayonnaise, it contains no egg. The binding "glue" is bread soaked in milk. There are other differences between common mayonnaise and skordalia. The Greek dip is more intensely flavorful -- atop the garlic I like it with a sound dose of strong paprika or mild chili powder and a handful of cilantro leaves -- and it cannot be bought in a jar. Fortunately, assembling a batch takes about five minutes in a food processor. With it, leftover chicken is almost essential, though of course you can cook some especially for the salad.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 2 ounces French or Italian bread

  • 1 cup milk or stock

  • 4 ounces peeled walnuts, about 1 cup

  • 1 small clove garlic, peeled

  • Salt and pepper to taste

  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

  • Chili powder or paprika to taste

  • 2 to 3 cups shredded cooked chicken

  • 1 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

17 grams carbs; 72 milligrams cholesterol; 546 calories; 15 grams monosaturated fat; 17 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 41 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 502 milligrams sodium; 30 grams protein; 5 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Soak bread in milk or stock. Put walnuts, garlic and salt in processor. Pulse to grind coarsely. Squeeze most of the liquid from bread; reserve liquid. Add bread to container, along with oil. Process until combined. Add reserved milk or stock until mixture has the consistency of mayonnaise. Add pepper, along with chili powder or paprika. Bind chicken with sauce. Stir in ⅔ cup cilantro. Garnish with rest.

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4 out of 5
36 user ratings
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Comments

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Drew

At others' recommendation, I quadrupled the garlic and added some seasoning salt (Momofuku savory brand; I bet a dash of Lawry's would pep this up as well). Yummy! Very easy to make, and the bread technique creates a surprisingly smooth texture for the sauce. The finished product needs a dash of acid. Lemon juice or a handful of capers would be delicious.

Meg

Doubled the garlic on this, which helped a lot.

Hannah

Agree, bland, need to give the dressing a boost which I did with a bit of heat and cumin. Loved the end product, will def make again. As someone who has an aversion to Mayo, lovely alternative.

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