Chicken, Cranberry, Pecan Salad Wedges

 

I had some cooked chicken which needed using up the other day and so I decided to make some chicken salad. I am not a real fan of chicken salad, but sometimes I don't mind indulging.

I had seen a recipe on Yummiest Food for Chicken Salad Wraps.  It looked quite good,  It had dried cranberries and pecans in the recipe and I love both of those. I also promised to be a somewhat healthy chicken salad. 

 

 

 

The only problem was I did not have any large tortillas or wraps and I'll be honest here. I don't really like wraps all that much.

I find them very messy to eat and the filling never stays in them. That has just been my experience.  As they say . . . 'just sayin!

 

I did have some six inch flour tortillas however and the wheels in my brain started turning and I thought to myself, what if I layered the filling in between these like a cake?

So that is what I did, I layered the filling between six-inch flour tortillas and then chilled it for an hour so I could cut it into wedges.

I also cut the recipe for the filling in half because I am only one and I cannot eat that much chicken salad! I also know this is a problem for a lot of my readers, so this is the small batch recipe!

I did tweak the recipe a bit as well. I added a few flavor ingredients because to be honest, I found the original a bit lacking in flavor.

I added spring onions and a bit more seasoning.  This made all the difference in the world!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CHICKEN, CRANBERRY PECAN SALAD WEDGES

Its simple really.  I bet you have everything in your kitchen right now. I know I am always saying that, but its true. Most of what I cook and share is not complicated!

• 1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken
• 1/3 cup dried sweetened cranberries
• 1/3 cup chopped toasted pecans (8 to 10 minutes in a moderate oven on a baking tray does the trick to toast them properly. The flavor is intensified immensely.)
• 1 stick chopped celery
• 1 spring onion (also known as green onions or scallions)
• 1/3 cup real mayonnaise (use a quality one, not low fat)
• fine sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder (not salt)
• six inch flour tortillas

I always toast my nuts before cooking with them or using them in things like this salad.  Toasting your nuts always brings out a beautiful depth of nutty flavor.

Its not hard to do, about 8 minutes in a moderate (350*F/180*C) does the trick.  Spread them out on a baking sheet  for toasting, and, when done, let them cool before you use them.

 

I used poached chicken breasts for this recipe. I scored some lovely skin on, bone in ones at the grocery store the other day.  

To poach chicken breasts, place them in a sauce pan and cover them with some chicken stock and water. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes until no longer pink inside. 

Leave to cool in the water until lukewarm.  Remove, peel off the skin and discard, along with the bones. What you are left with is beautifully moist and delicious chicken.

HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN, CRANBERRY, PECAN SALAD WEDGES

Again, nothing could be easier. Making the filling is as simple as stirring all of the filling ingredients together until they are evenly and well combined. 

To prep the celery, I cut the stick of celery, lengthwise into quarters and then crosswise into 1/4 inch slices.  Nicely diced.

I trimmed the spring onion, washed it really well, making sure any grit was removed and then I cut it in half down the length of it and then into thin slices crosswise, using only the light green and white bits.

I diced the chicken into a 1/2 inch dice and I cut the pecans, crosswise into 1/4 inch pieces. If you have a sharp knife, none of this is any problem.

I also chopped the dried cranberries a tiny bit. You don't need to do this, but I think you get a nicer salad that spreads better if you do.

 

Once you have your salad fixings prepped and mixed together with the mayo and the seasonings, you can start building your wedges.  Just divide the salad into thirds and sandwich it in between the tortillas, having one tortilla on the bottom and on the top and two in between.

Effectively you sandwich is in three layers with a tortilla between and enclosing each layer.   Press gently so that everything compacts a tiny bit, wrap tightly in plastic cling film and then chill for about an hour so that everything sets up nicely.

 

And that is basically it.  Cut the chilled filled tortilla into wedges to serve.  As you can see everything stays nicely inside the tortillas and is not falling out all over the place. These are quite manageable and very pleasant to eat!

Delicious actually. These would also make great appetizers, cut into thinner wedges, but they made a fabulous lunch served with a few potato chips.  I highly recommend. The recipe would work with turkey also! Enjoy!

 

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