Spicy Chicken Salad with Toasted Fennel and Celery — Alison Roman

Updated at: Wed, 16 Aug 2023 20:09:14 GMT

Step 1

1. Heat oil in a small pot or skillet over medium heat. add fennel seed, crushed red pepper flakes, and garlic and as soon as you see the slightest suggestion of sizzling, turn the heat alllllll the way down. If you have a fancy stove, this will be VERY low, and if you, like me, have a kind of shitty one, then it won’t be that low but that’s fine.

Step 2

2. Cook 5–8 minutes until the garlic is a very pale golden brown and completely softened. Depending on your red pepper flakes, this oil might turn bright orange and it might not. Either way, it’s going to be great!

Step 3

3. Let the oil cool completely and season well with salt. Taste it; add more crushed red pepper flakes if you feel like it can be spicier.

Step 4

1. Toss the chicken in a small bowl with a few large spoonfuls of the dressing. Season with salt, pepper and more dressing as needed— it should be so good already that you almost want to eat the whole bowl of shredded, poached chicken (but you won’t— there is a salad to be made).

Step 5

2. Toss celery, herbs and lettuces in a medium bowl with a very generous squeeze of lemon; season with salt and pepper.

Step 6

3. Spoon some of the salty yogurt onto the bottom of a plate of the bowl, then top with the celery mixture and bits of chicken. Pop a half a jammy egg in there, if you like, spoon more dressing on and around it all.

Step 7

Bring a medium pot of well-salted water to a boil. add one quartered onion and one sliced lemon, let it simmer for a few minutes to season the water appropriately. Add about 1 1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 3 medium breasts) and reduce the heat to a bare simmer, like just a few tiny teeny bubbles. No boiling, please! Gently poach for 15–20 minutes (mine were on the smaller side of medium and took 16 minutes, so adjust based on the size of yours). Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove chicken from the liquid and let cool on a plate or baking sheet.

Step 8

Combine yogurt (I use full fat or 2% greek) in a medium bowl and season with salt. Make it salty, as the name suggests. You can also season this with lemon juice if you find your yogurt could use more tang.

Step 9

There are lots of ways to make jammy eggs, and this is how I make mine. Take it or leave it! Bring a small pot of water to a boil and carefully lower in 4-6 large eggs. Set a timer for six minutes (seriously, set a timer! I never set a timer and even I set a timer for jammy eggs) and let them boil for six whole minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and run them under cold water until they’re cool enough to handle. Peel and eat or refrigerate for later.

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Makes leftovers

Spicy