Salad with Smoked Chicken, Beans, and Croutons

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make a salad with smoked chicken breast, beans, and croutons? Very fast and simple. First, gather the ingredients from the list. You can round out the vegetable part of the salad to your taste. For the canned beans, you can use white, red, or a mix of both.

2. Step 2:

   

   You can use store-bought croutons and vary the flavor of your salad depending on their seasoning, or make your own. They can be from white or dark bread, whichever you prefer. White-bread croutons soak through faster in a salad, so I always go with rye croutons. Cut rye bread into small cubes and toast them on a baking sheet in the oven at 350°F (180°C) for 15–20 minutes. Let the finished croutons cool.

3. Step 3:

   

   Drain all the liquid from the canned beans and tip them into a colander. It's a good idea to rinse the beans with cold water to wash off any leftover viscous juice. Pat the rinsed beans dry.

4. Step 4:

   

   Boil the carrots until tender ahead of time and let them cool. Then peel them and cut them into medium cubes.

5. Step 5:

   

   Remove the skin and bones from the smoked breast and cut it into small cubes. You can substitute meat from smoked leg quarters for the breast.

6. Step 6:

   

   Cut the tomatoes into medium pieces. The tomatoes should be juicy but firm. Soft ones don't hold their shape well — as you slice and toss them, they'll break down into a shapeless mush and ruin the look of the dish.

7. Step 7:

   

   Wash, dry, and finely chop the herbs. Instead of dill, you can use other herbs: parsley, green onion, and so on.

8. Step 8:

   

   In a bowl, combine the smoked chicken, beans, tomatoes, carrots, croutons, chopped herbs, and garlic pressed through a garlic press.

9. Step 9:

   

   Dress the salad with mayonnaise. You can add salt and pepper if you like, but personally I very rarely add seasonings to salads with mayonnaise.

10. Step 10:

    

    If you're not going to serve the salad right away or within the next 10–15 minutes, it's better to hold off on the croutons and mayonnaise. The croutons soak through quickly and turn into a bready mush — especially fast with white-bread croutons. Toss everything thoroughly and serve right away. Enjoy!