Chicken Salad with Hazelnut Sauce on Ciabatta Bread Recipe by Mangia
Chicken Salad with Hazelnut Sauce on Ciabatta Bread
We tasted a salad like this, with chicken and a splendid nut sauce, in Turkey one summer. When we got home, we decided to try it with hazelnuts. It is elegant company fare, thanks in large part to the hazelnuts. Ciabatta loaves, made from flour, yeast, and water, are shaped like old and much-used slip- pers-hence the name, which is Italian for "old slipper." If they are not available where you live, use baguettes, which should be easy to find.
While many people think of sandwiches only at lunchtime, this one makes a swell supper served alongside a simple green salad.
Ingredients
- 1 roasting chicken from 3 to 4 pounds
- 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- FOR THE HAZELNUT SAUCE
- 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon of fennel seeds
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 slices white bread crusts removed
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup hazelnuts toasted and skinned
- 2 beefsteak tomatoes
- 6 individual ciabatta loaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Wash the chicken outside and inside, and pat it dry with paper towels. Rub the outside of the chicken well with the butter, sprinkle with the salt, and place in a roasting pan. Roast for 1 hour, or until the leg joints move easily and the juices run clear when the flesh is tested with a fork. Remove the pan from the oven and let the chicken cool to room temperature.
- To make the hazelnut sauce: In a small skillet, toast the coriander and fennel seeds over medium heat, shaking the pan continually, until they become fragrant.
- Peel and trim the garlic cloves. Soak the bread in the chicken broth.
- In a blender or food processor, puree the toasted seeds, garlic, salt, and cayenne with the cream. In small amounts, add the hazelnuts and broth with the bread to the processor, blending after each addition. When you are done, you should have a sauce somewhat thinner than mayonnaise. Taste for salt, and add if necessary.
- Remove the skin from the chicken. With your fingers, pull off the meat in bite-size strips and put in a large bowl. Be careful to avoid all cartilage, dark veins, or gristle. Add the hazelnut sauce to the chicken and toss to combine.
- When you are ready to assemble sandwiches, thinly slice the tomatoes. Cut each ciabatta lengthwise, horizontally, without cutting all the way through. The breads should remain hinged on one side. Fill each bread with some of the chicken salad, top the salad with 2 or 3 tomato slices, cover with the top crusts, and cut the sandwich in half.
