Almond Chutney Chicken Lettuce Roll Ups
Summer has finally arrived in San Francisco. We were pretty excited to come home from holiday to find warm and sunny weather. We never know how short that window will be, so we tend to break out the tank tops, light tees, sundresses, shorts and take full advantage of the warm evenings! We spent the evening on the deck sipping rose and enjoying the stillness that was filling the air; not to mention the smell of the lavender and lemon verbena that we have growing and that was incredibly full of life this evening. It definitely was an evening that was not meant to be over a stove, one that was meant to be enjoyed outdoors! I found this recipe for Almond Chutney Chicken Lettuce Roll-ups a couple months ago and have been itching to make them, tonight would be the night!
As well we would be able to participate in Andrea’s GYO event since we were using basil and lemon verbena from the garden. Noob Cook is co-hosting this month with Andrea, so be sure to check out all the wonderful entries on her site!
Back to the roll-ups. This dish is so easy to make since you use a pre-roasted chicken or as I like to call them, the cheater chicken. The longest part is the marriage of the chicken with the dressing, which is made with red onions, chilies, Meyer Lemon juice and zest as well as mayonnaise and Major Grey Chutney. We only let it sit for about two hours and it was very flavorful and creamy! Then you roll it up in lettuce leaves with basil, cilantro, cucumbers and radishes! Next time I would cut the mayo in half; otherwise, the recipe was perfect!
For dessert we threw together some sliced nectarines, leftover raspberries, lemon verbana and then topped it with a mixture of flour, sugar, butter and some nuts (I normally use almonds; but only had pistachios from a leftover macaroon day). Baked it for about 40 minutes at 325 and we had a nice dessert to share with our friends Bryan and Erin who stopped by to say hello and to enjoy a glass of wine! Great way to start the weekend!
Verdict: I loved it all! Will make it again and again. Fast, easy and very flavorful. Lenny, at first was not to sure of it, probably because of the mayo; but, at the end, said he really liked it. The proof was the very empty platter!
Recipe: Almond Chutney Chicken Lettuce Roll Ups
* recipe from Housebeautiful.com
Ingredients
Serves 4.
15 minutes prep time
20 minutes resting time
The chicken salad is better if made a day ahead, but don’t add the celery and nuts until serving time.
CHICKEN SALAD
1 3-pound roasted chicken
1 medium red onion, cut into -inch dice
Grated zest of 1 large lemon
Juice of 3 large lemons, or more to taste
2 jalapeo chiles, seeded and minced, or hot sauce to taste
9-unce jar Major Grey Chutney, cut into bite-size pieces if necessary
cup mayonnaise
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
3 large stalks celery, cut into -inch dice
1 cup whole salted almonds, coarse chopped
LETTUCE CUPS AND HERBS
1 large head Bibb lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried
1 large bunch fresh basil, washed and dried
1 large bunch fresh coriander, washed and dried
8 radishes, thin sliced
Directions
1. Pull the meat from the chicken carcass, discarding the skin and bones. Cut it into bite-size pieces.
2. In a large bowl combine the onion, lemon zest and juice, jalapeo, chutney, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper. Fold in the chicken. Taste the mix for lemon, mayonnaise, and spice, adding more as needed. Let it stand 20 minutes to blend flavors, or refrigerate overnight.
3. To serve, blend the celery and nuts into the chicken mixture. Mound the salad at one side of a big platter. Pile up the lettuce leaves at the other side, and cluster sprigs of herbs in the center. Tuck the radishes and cucumbers next to the herbs.
4. Put a few herb leaves in the bottom of a lettuce “cup,” top them with a spoonful of the salad, a slice each of radish and cucumber, and roll up.
IMPROVISING SPRING ROLLS
Vietnamese chef Mai Pham does home-style spring rolls with the remnants of a good meal. A little goes a long way with this approach. She softens rounds of rice paper in warm water, piles on fresh mint or basil with the leftovers, and rolls them into neat burrito-style packages. Vietnam’s classic spring roll dipping sauce, nuoc cham, is worth making and keeping in the refrigerator. Blend to taste Asian fish sauce (nam pla or nuoc nam), lime juice, sugar, water, minced garlic, and chopped fresh chiles. Imagine dipping into this with a spring roll filled with leftover baked yams, fresh mint, and coriander. Get the idea?
I saw the recipe on the Denver Post website (I don’t have that cookbook yet, but will eventually because I really enjoy The Spendid Table.) Anyway, it looks and sounds really good and easy, especially when we can pull straight from the garden. Thanks for sharing again with Grow Your Own!
Thank you for your wonderful entry to GYO!
Does it get really warm in SF? I was there in summer (early August) last year and it was so cold I was decked out in semi-winter gear lol … I love both the main course and the dessert … how wonderful to create meals from using home-grown edibles ^^
[...] of Chez Us (San Francisco, United States) ushers in summer with a delicious Almond Chutney Chicken Lettuce Roll-ups and a lovely baked fruity dessert made with basil and lemon verbana from the [...]