Persian Chicken Salad
Persian Chicken Salad is called Salad Oliveih in Iran. It is a very traditional salad, their version of the potato. Serve as a sandwich spread or served with a crusty baguette. My good friends are from Iran and they bring this dish to every family gathering we have. I’m thankful for their heritage and what they contribute to me as an immigrant. America is a land of immigrants and I’m thankful to know many of them. They’ve brought a richness to my life that can’t be acquired by money or fame. Get to know an immigrant in your neighborhood and find out just how life-changing it can be.
Half a chicken
3 tablespoon olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
6 large eggs, hard boiled
6 medium white potatoes, steamed with skin
3 medium carrots, peeled and steamed
1 cup frozen sweet peas
8-9 baby dill pickles, roughly chopped
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 ½ cups real mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped finely
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Place the chicken half in a large roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the chicken for 35 minutes or until juices run clear. Allow the chicken to cool before removing the meat. Once the chicken is cooled remove the skin and shred the meat. There will be about 1/4 -1/2 cup very rich broth left in the pot. If there is too much broth, transfer the chicken to a plate and cook the broth over medium-low heat and reduce it down to 1/2 cup. Place the broth in the fridge until the rest of the ingredients are ready. The broth will become gelatinous and thickened.
Meanwhile cook the rest of the ingredients: Steam the potatoes with skin until easily pierced through with a fork (about 30 minutes on medium heat). Set aside until cool enough to handle. Peel the skin and medium dice the potatoes finely and add them to a bowl. Add ¼ cup cider vinegar to the bowl and stir to coat. Set aside.
Peel the carrots and steam until very tender. Turn the heat off and add the frozen sweet peas to the pot and cover with the lid. It takes only a few minutes to thaw the frozen peas. Once the carrots are cooked dice them finely. Set aside with the peas.
Hard boil 6 eggs. Peel the eggs when cool enough to handle. Medium dice the eggs and set them aside.
When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove all the bones and skin, dice it into small cubes and add it to a large bowl. Add the diced carrots and thawed peas to the bowl. Add the thickened broth to the bowl and toss with a spatula or a large spoon several times.
Add the diced potatoes, eggs to the bowl.
Use your knife or a food processor to roughly chop the baby dill pickles. Add them to the bowl.
Add 1 ½ cups mayonnaise,1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, fresh dill leaves and 2 tablespoons lemon juice to the bowl and use a spatula or large spoon to mix all the ingredients very well.
Add freshly cracked black pepper and salt to taste.
Serve the Persian Chicken Salad with crusty French baguette, sliced pickles, tomatoes, Kalamata olives, Romaine lettuce, or fresh parsley sprigs. Design the top any way you’d like.