Having the ladies over for a festive holiday luncheon? Tired of chicken salad and all its variations? Try this instead. Although it takes a little longer to prepare, your guests will rave over it and, if there are any, leftovers are even more delicious!
To prepare the turkey, you will need the following:
- 1 6-pound turkey breast, fresh or thawed
- 2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 2 medium-sized onions, each studded with 4 whole cloves
- 1 stalk of celery with leaves, cut into chunks
- 4 medium-sized carrots, peeled and chunked
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 10 whole black peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
Combine broth with water in deep, large pot. Add everything else except the turkey breast and stir a couple of times to combine. Add turkey breast. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 2-1/2 hours. (Fresh turkey may take a little less time). When the turkey is cooked through, remove the pot from the heat and allow to stand for at least 1-1/2 hours to cool, basting the turkey breast with the broth frequently to keep it moist.
When cooled, remove the turkey breast. Place on cutting board. (Liquid may be reserved for other uses.) Remove skin and cut turkey into bite-sized chunks placed in a large bowl.
In a small bowl, make the following dressing/marinade:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon onion juice (can use finely grated onion)
- 2-1/2 teaspoons ground dried tarragon
- 3/4 cup scallions, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Combine all dressing/marinade ingredients and mix well. Pour over turkey and toss to combine and coat turkey evenly. Cover bowl with plastic wrap an refrigerate until chilled (overnight works best!).
To prepare the rest of the salad, you will need the following:
- 4 cups of sliced celery (approximately 6 stalks, no leaves)
- 2 cans (20-ounces each) pineapple chunks, drained
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup cream
Mix the mayonnaise and cream together to form a dressing. Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and drain. Place turkey in a large bowl and add the cut celery and pineapple chunks. Pour mayonnaise mixture over the salad and toss gently to coat evenly and distribute the celery and pinepple.
To serve, line a platter with lettuce leaves and mound turkey salad in the center. Garnish with a few slivered almonds. OR, if you wish to make individual servings, place a large lettuce leaf on each plate and place the turkey salad on top and garnish with almonds.
The perfect complement to this salad, is a wonderful hot soup. My favorite is French onion, but a great spicy tomato or a tomato juice/beef consomme combination served in a mug is also fantastic.
Although this recipe takes a little more time, it’s worth it. And, if you don’t need enough to feed 12, you can always prepare the turkey breast (without marinade) and freeze half for later use in casseroles or in place of chicken in other salad recipes. Just halve the marinade and the amounts of ingredients to finish the salad.
My friends love this dish and yours will too! Have fun!
