Chicken Salad on Croissant

From The Spice Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Katie Luber and Sara Engram

We have lost count of the versions of chicken salad we have tasted and loved over the years. But this one has become our all-time favorite, with just the right mix of chicken and extra goodies like cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and—perhaps the star of the show—Cardamom Candied Walnuts. Gently spicing the mayonnaise with coriander and orange zest takes this chicken salad over the top. (You’ll want to mix extra mayonnaise to spread on the sandwich—and you may want to keep extra on hand for other uses.)

This salad also works well with turkey. In fact, it’s the perfect day-after-Thanksgiving sandwich.

½ cup mayonnaise, plus additional for spreading
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried orange zest
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups diced cooked chicken
½ cup Cardamom Candied Walnuts (page 112), chopped
½ cup sweetened dried cranberries
¼ cup finely diced yellow bell pepper
¼ cup finely diced celery
¼ cup finely diced red onion
2 tablespoons shelled sunflower or pumpkin seeds, preferably roasted and salted
4 croissants, halved horizontally

Whisk together the mayonnaise, coriander, orange zest, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir in the chicken, walnuts, cranberries, bell pepper, celery, onion, and seeds and gently toss the salad until evenly coated. Spread additional mayonnaise on the croissant halves if desired. Evenly divide the chicken salad between the four croissants and serve.

Makes 4 sandwiches