Layered Chicken Salad with Prunes, Mushrooms, and Cucumber

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Gather all your ingredients for the salad.

2. Step 2:

   

   Rinse the fresh mushrooms and slice them into thin strips. Peel and finely chop the onion. Heat a little vegetable oil in a skillet and sauté the mushrooms with the onion, stirring, for about 5 minutes. The mushrooms cook quickly, and the onion has just enough time to soften and turn translucent.

3. Step 3:

   

   Use one large or two small fresh cucumbers. Rinse them, cut into thin matchsticks, and lightly salt.

4. Step 4:

   

   Put the prunes in a small deep bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them soak for 10–20 minutes until plump and soft. Drain in a colander, then slice into strips.

5. Step 5:

   

   Hard-boil the eggs: lower them into boiling salted water and cook for 10 minutes over moderate heat. Cool under cold water, peel, and separate the whites from the yolks. Mash the yolks with a fork and set aside. Coarsely grate the whites, divide them in half, and simmer one half in strong black tea so it turns brown (this gives you a two-tone garnish later).

6. Step 6:

   

   I used boiled drumsticks here, but any meaty cut of chicken works — boiled or smoked (breast, leg quarters, thighs). I simmered the drumsticks in salted water for about 40 minutes, cooled them, removed the skin, took the meat off the bone, and chopped it.

7. Step 7:

   

   Now we start assembling the layered salad. Build the layers one at a time. The first layer is the chopped chicken — use half of the total amount.

8. Step 8:

   

   For the second layer, add the mashed egg yolks, then spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on top.

9. Step 9:

   

   For the third layer, add the prunes and another thin layer of mayonnaise.

10. Step 10:

    

    The fourth layer is the sautéed mushrooms and onion — season this layer with salt and pepper to taste. The fifth layer is the cucumber. For the sixth layer, add the remaining chopped chicken and brush it with mayonnaise.

11. Step 11:

    

    Decorate the top as shown in the photo. The light areas are the plain grated egg whites; the dark areas are the tea-dyed whites.

12. Step 12:

    

    Use chopped or whole olives to mark the dividing lines of the design.