This past weekend I was at a party and my buddy Eric and I happened to get in a conversation about food. He mentioned that he had been making curry chicken salad fairly frequently lately. My first thought was, "Curry chicken salad...yum! But ugh, I would have to roast some chicken...what a pain in the butt. Who has time for that?"  That's when he mentioned that he was using cooked rotisserie chicken from the market and my ears perked up. Rotisserie chicken? That sounds quick! Then my second thought was, "Oh, all that mayo! I can't eat that, I'm trying to lose a few pounds!" But where there's a will there's a way and on the drive home later that night, I started thinking about perhaps using yogurt (more specifically Greek yogurt, which has a nice creamy texture) in place of the mayo. I could cut the calories but still get my curry chicken salad fix. I know several friends who love subbing Greek yogurt into their recipes so I figured,"Why the hell not?" I tinkered around with the recipe on Monday and what I ended up with is listed below. I was quite pleased with the result and ate it for dinner last night and lunch today. It was the perfect balance of sweet and savory for me.
* If you like spicy, add a pinch of cayenne, it adds a nice kick to the dish.

PS It's Nov. 6th! If you haven't already--be sure to vote!



Spicy Curry Chicken Salad

Ingredients

3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

1 cup plain Greek yogurt  (I used Fage Total 2%)

1.5 tablespoons curry powder

1 medium Fuji apple, cored and chopped

1/2 cup dried cranberries

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons red onion

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup almonds, sliced and roasted (optional)

pinch of cayenne (optional)


Instructions

1. In a small bowl, combine Greek yogurt, curry powder, lemon juice, pepper, salt and a pinch of cayenne. Stir together.

2. In a large bowl, combine shredded chicken, chopped apple, dried cranberries and red onion.

3. Combine the ingredients from the two bowls. Mix together well.

4. Serve chilled. Tastes great spread on some soft lavash or place a scoop atop a bed of fresh salad greens.