Avocado Chicken Salad

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It's national avocado month!  Here an admission: I hated avocado until I was in my late teens.  And I did try it with an open mind.  It was a texture issue I'm guessing, and fortunately I did eventually grow out of it and learn to love avocado.  I made sure to try to introduce avocado to my kids in as unobtrusive and delicious a way as possible and that came in the form of avocado chicken soup, which was a total win.  

Also, I never had chicken salad as a kid.  Again I came to appreciate it much later in life.  And I admit that I really love the little pops of sweetness from the cranberries, so I am generous with that addition!  We tried it with cheese and half the fam preferred it without.  Personally, I think just the salad on bread is delightful, though eldest loves lots of lettuce on her sandwiches.

Avocado Chicken Salad 
serves 3-4

½ lb cooked and chopped/shredded skinless, boneless chicken breast (or rotisserie chicken), fully cooled
1 stalk celery, finely diced
¼ cup diced red onion, small dice (shallot will work also)
⅓ cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
3 tbsp cashews, chopped (omit or substitute with sunflower seeds or pepitas for nut sensitivities)
1 ripe avocado*
splash of lemon juice
1 tbsp sour cream
1 tbsp mayonnaise
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp coriander
dash of Tabasco
salt and pepper to taste

lettuce and bread of choice to serve 

Toss together the chopped/shredded chicken, celery, red onion, cranberries and cashews in a medium bowl.  Halve the avocado and scoop the flesh of one half into a small bowl.  Add a splash of lemon juice and mash with a fork.  Dice the flesh of the other half and toss with a splash of lemon juice.  To the mashed avocado, mix in the spices, sour cream, and mayo, and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add in the dash of Tabasco and combine it with the chicken mixture.  Fold together until all ingredients are dressed.  Lightly fold in the diced avocado.

Keep chilled and serve as desired.  

We enjoyed it as a sourdough sandwich, but it can be served in a lettuce bowl as well or on any type of bread.  The next day, I had some on lightly toasted oatmeal date bread and it was fantastic.  (It will slightly discolor if kept for two days, but still tasty!)

* Just the mashed avocado with lemon, cumin, and coriander makes an excellent guac-style chip dip!

Be sure to check out some more avocado recipes:

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