Plush poached chicken meets fresh, herby mayonnaise in this satisfying summer salad
Diana Henry The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer
Diana Henry is the Telegraph’s much-loved cookery writer. She shares recipes each week, for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. She is also a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4, and her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters.
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The late American chef Barbara Tropp described the texture of perfectly poached chicken breasts as ‘plush’. It should be tender and soft, not overcooked but, just as importantly, not undercooked with a bloated ‘wet’ texture. If you cook the chicken in advance, keep it in the stock in which it has been poached until you want to serve it. The herby mayonnaise shouldn’t be made too far in advance or it will be less green and fresh.
Requires 30 minutes soaking time.
Overview
Prep time
20 mins
Cook time
30 mins
Serves
6
Ingredients
- 800ml chicken stock
- 5-6 skinless chicken breasts
- 450g waxy small new potatoes
- 215g French beans, topped but not tailed
- 2 ripe avocados
- 1 lemon
- 145g watermelon radishes or regular radishes
- a head of romaine lettuce
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
For the dressing
- 1½ tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 egg yolks
- 250ml olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ small garlic clove, grated
- 1 anchovy, soaked in milk for 30 minutes, drained and chopped
- 10g parsley leaves, finely chopped
- 10g chives, finely chopped
- leaves from 4 sprigs of tarragon, chopped
- 50g Greek yogurt (add it gradually)
Method
Step
To make the dressing, put 1½ tsp Dijon mustard, 2 egg yolks and some seasoning into a bowl. Using an electric hand mixer, beat this together then start adding 250ml olive oil a drop at a time. Keep beating and adding the oil slowly until you can see that the mixture is starting to thicken. Once it’s thickening you can start adding the oil faster.
Step
Add 1 tbsp of the lemon juice (taste as you add it), ½ grated garlic clove, 1 chopped anchovy (soaked in milk for 30 minutes prior), 10g finely chopped parsley leaves, 10g chopped chives and the chopped leaves of 4 tarragon sprigs. If you are making this in a food processor the herbs will turn the sauce green. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Step
Add 25g of the Greek yogurt, taste and decide if you want more (it lightens the mayonnaise). Check the seasoning again. The mixture should be pourable, not the texture of mayonnaise.
Step
Heat 800ml chicken stock in a sauté pan or casserole that will hold the chicken in a single layer. When it’s simmering, add 5-6 chicken breasts. Cover with a lid and cook the breasts gently for about 12 minutes then check for doneness. This should give you breasts that are cooked but moist. You can cook these ahead of time and keep them in the fridge in the stock, but bring them out before you want to use them so they’re not fridge cold.
Step
Steam or microwave 450g new potatoes and 215g topped French beans. The potatoes should be tender and the beans have a little bite. Run cold water through the beans, then blot dry (dressing doesn’t cling well to wet vegetables).
Step
Halve, pit and slice 2 avocados. Remove the skin from each slice, squeezing the juice of ½ lemon over them. Season.
Step
Remove the tufty top and trim the tail on 145g radishes then shave them (use a mandoline) or finely slice. Tear the leaves from a head of romaine lettuce. Cut the chicken into neat slices. Toss the elements together with 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, the juice from the remaining ½ lemon and seasoning. Seasoning, even before you add the dressing, is really important. Spoon the dressing over the salad – you might not want to use all of it, it shouldn’t look swamped – and serve. Offer the rest of the dressing on the side.