Secrets of the Tulalip Chefs

The award-winning chefs who design and oversee the restaurants at the Tulalip Resort Casino share their favorite recipes and tips with our readers. Although the dishes look and taste like gourmet treats, even household cooks can follow these instructions to put the wow factor back into family dinners.

With winter still keeping us in its embrace, this salad is a refreshing change; it is my take on the classic. The dressing is creamy and just sweet enough to balance the acid from the apple cider vinegar and lemon rind. Add to that the crunch of sweet granny smith apples, celery and candied walnuts, and you really get that earthy, nutty goodness that we all crave.

I used chicken breast as the protein. The neutral flavor fits well with the profile, but feel free to play around, maybe adding diced pork (we all know how well pork chops and apple sauce go together).

The fried onions are the perfect topper for this exceptional salad. You wouldn't think they would pair well with this profile but they really enhance the experience and add contrast with their crunch. You will have a little extra dressing left over. I hope you enjoy this as much as we enjoyed creating it!

Ingredients

(Makes one entrée-size salad):

3/4 cup mayonnaise 

3/4 cup sour cream 

1/3 cup honey 

1 tablespoon grated lemon rind 

1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 chopped celery stalk

1 Granny smith apple cut into small dice (save 3 slices for garnish)

4 ounces cooked chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 1/2 ounce spring salad mix

2 ounces candied walnut

2 ounces craisins (dried cranberries)

1 ounce fried onion (Walla Walla sweet onion, sliced thin, dusted with corn starch and fried at 350 degrees until golden brown). They are time consuming to make but well worth it!

Preparation:

Mix first 6 ingredients together and chill for an hour, fold in chicken, granny smith apple and celery.

Place spring mix in separate bowl, clearing a space in the middle for the chicken salad and dressing mix. Garnish with the rest of the ingredients. Top with the irresistible fried onions.