Salad with Smoked Chicken, Prunes, and Walnuts

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make a salad with smoked chicken, prunes, and walnuts? Start by gathering your ingredients.

2. Step 2:

   

   Chop the walnuts fairly finely with a knife. Everything should be cut to roughly the same size — the finer you chop, the more tender and delicious the salad turns out.

3. Step 3:

   

   Separate the hard-boiled eggs into whites and yolks. Finely dice the whites or grate them.

4. Step 4:

   

   The cucumber, though, is better chopped by hand with a knife.

5. Step 5:

   

   Pull the meat off the bones and skin, then finely chop it as well.

6. Step 6:

   

   Rinse the prunes and cover them with hot water for 5–10 minutes to soften. Then pat them dry and finely chop.

7. Step 7:

   

   Now assemble the salad in layers from your prepped ingredients. You can serve it on a flat open platter, in a clear glass bowl, or portioned into individual coupes.

8. Step 8:

   

   The first layer is the meat.

9. Step 9:

   

   Then a thin layer of mayonnaise.

10. Step 10:

    

    Next, a layer of prunes. Try to keep it within the same shape so it doesn't spill over the edges.

11. Step 11:

    

    Carefully scatter the walnuts over the prunes, pressing them lightly into the surface. It's fine if a few tumble off — the important thing is to keep the salad's shape.

12. Step 12:

    

    The next layer is the egg whites; smooth them out and press down gently, too.

13. Step 13:

    

    Spread a fairly thick layer of mayonnaise over the whites.

14. Step 14:

    

    Then a layer of cucumbers. (You can add a little salt if you like, but there's already enough for me in the chicken and mayonnaise, so it's up to you.)

15. Step 15:

    

    Add a thin layer of mayonnaise (or pipe it in a lattice if your mayonnaise is thin enough).

16. Step 16:

    

    Grate the yolk over the top, letting a little fall onto the sides.

17. Step 17:

    

    Lightly sprinkle the sides of the salad and the rim of the dish with walnuts and garnish however you like. If you're not serving it right away, be sure to cover the top with plastic wrap. Enjoy!