Lemon-Tarragon Chicken Salad

I have a lot of left-over chicken and some yummy home-made whole wheat bread. And today, I put it all together as a Lemon-Tarragon Chicken Salad.

When I was younger, anything full of mayo freaked me out. Tuna salad, coleslaw, egg salad, chicken salad—mayo-bath-salad anything was a no. I didn’t like the messy look and how unidentified objects could easily hide in that slimy mix and catch my mouth by surprise—like grapes. I know, the whole chicken salad grape thing can taste good, but I’m not a big fan of a big purple marble swimming around in all that mayo and yelling “surprise” when my palate least expects it.

Now as an adult, I’ve grown to love mayo-anything. Too many run-ins with dry sandwiches, can reform a person. But my husband is still very much against “surprises” in his food, especially in his sandwiches. That’s why we were very happy to find this simple chicken salad recipe; it doesn’t have too many ingredients (just chicken, lemon, tarragon, red onion, and mayo), but is still tasty and delicious.

The best part about any chicken salad recipe is that you can always adjust it to your liking. If you feel you need more lemon or onion, so be it. The same with the tarragon or salt & pepper. I love tarragon with chicken, so I tend to put more than directed. Just remember to taste it along the way. I don’t really follow the directions completely. I usually omit the celery (I’m not a celery fan) and I adjust the measurements to my liking, which changes pending how much chicken I am using and if I want a more lemony taste that day. I do add a teaspoon of grainy mustard sometimes, but not always. And for the bread, I eat whatever I have. The recipe was more of a base guide and a jumping point for me to make a chicken salad that I would love.

I usually make this chicken salad to keep in the refrigerator when my husband is coming home from traveling. That way there is always a quick and tasty meal ready for him even if he comes home at an odd hour. But this chicken salad doesn’t last very long in our apartment: we both end up picking at it and eating it whenever we feel munchie. I also make this more often in the summer when I just want a cool yet filling meal. And of course, this is always perfect for left-over roast chicken.*

The recipe for Lemon-Tarragon Chicken Salad can be found here.

*Though the chicken I’m using was originally seasoned with orange and cinnamon, it didn’t hurt the taste at all. I used the chicken breast meat where none of the spices really penetrated. I also put a lot of lemon in this chicken salad.