Chicken Salad With Walnuts and Grapes

Chicken Salad With Walnuts and Grapes

• JILL SANTOPIETRO YIELD4 to 6 servings TIME5 minutes

Craig Lee for The New York Times

A pile of this chicken salad plopped on top of a bed of greens or tucked between two slices of good bread would make a most excellent lunch or light supper. It starts with a quick dressing made of mayonnaise, chopped chives, parsley and tarragon and the juice and zest of a lemon. Combine the dressing with chopped, cooked chicken (for ease, use supermarket rotisserie chicken or Thanksgiving turkey leftovers), red grapes, red onion, celery and walnuts. It's a delightful and deeply satisfying combination of flavors (sweet, salty, tangy) and textures (cold, crunchy, juicy) that's almost impossible to stop eating.

Featured in: The Arsenal. 

INGREDIENTS

• ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon mayonnaise

• Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

• ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste

• ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

• 1 ½ teaspoons finely chopped chives

• 1 ½ teaspoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped tarragon

• 1 3-pound roasted chicken, skin removed, meat roughly chopped

• ⅓ cup finely chopped red onion

• ½ cup finely chopped celery

• 1 cup halved red seedless grapes

• ¾ cup roughly chopped walnuts, lightly toasted

• Mesclun, optional

• Crusty bread, optional

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PREPARATION

1 In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper. Add the chives, parsley and tarragon and mix gently.

2 In a large bowl, combine the chicken, onion, celery, grapes and walnuts. Add the mayonnaise mixture and fold together to combine. Season to taste. If desired, serve over mesclun or with bread.

I used 1/4 C. dried apricots and 3/4 C. grapes.