Spinach Almond Salad with Chicken

This is a delicious salad: tender chunks of chicken, crisp apple and fresh spinach tossed with a tangy-sweet curry and mango chutney dressing . Yumm!

I didn’t bother stemming the spinach or tearing it into pieces because I thought it was fine as is. I omitted the golden raisins and substituted chopped celery for added crunch (1 large stalk chopped), and substituted cashew pieces for the slivered almonds. I didn’t have green onions so I used chopped red onion instead (green onion would add more color to the dish so I will use it next time). For the dressing, I used olive oil instead of the canola oil. The changes I made were minor and didn’t dramatically alter the salad…they just saved me from having to make a last minute trip to the store.

Spinach Almond Salad with Chicken
-from Albertina’s Exceptional Recipes Cookbook

Serves 6.

2 lbs. spinach leaves, washed and stemmed
3 cups diced cooked chicken breast
2 cups diced red apples, unpeeled
2/3 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
3/4 cup toasted slivered almonds, divided

Dressing:
2 tablespoons mango chutney
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup canola oil

Prepare dressing. Place all dressing ingredients, except oil, in a food processor or blender. Mix well. Slowly pour oil through the feed tube while machine is running. This will emulsify the dressing. Refrigerate until used.

Cut or tear the spinach leaves into large bite-sized pieces. Refrigerate.

Combine diced chicken, apple, raisins and green onions with 2/3 cup of the dressing. Mix well and chill.

At serving time, add remaining dressing to spinach. Toss lightly and place on individual serving plates. Sprinkle sesame seeds over greens.

Add 1/2 cup almonds to chicken mixture. Spoon chicken mixture on top of greens and sprinkle remaining almonds on top.