Chicken and mushroom salad: The ultimate dish for any gathering

Soft and juicy chicken, crispy mushrooms, sweet corn, and full-flavoured pickled celery create a perfectly complementary mix of flavours. This salad is a great way to enrich your table during larger parties, smaller gatherings, and family celebrations as well.

I prepare the chicken and mushroom salad for almost every party; it’s my version of the ever-popular gyros. It has so much flavour that it’s hard not to nod in approval after tasting it. It even pleases the mother-in-law.

The base of my favourite party salad is chicken roasted in a yoghurt marinade, mushrooms fried to a golden colour, canned corn, and celery. It’s salty, it’s sweet, the mushrooms impart their umami flavour, and we also have sour notes thanks to the sauce – dill and garlic – made using mayonnaise, natural yoghurt, and lemon juice. A perfect finishing touch for the party salad is a handful of dill spread over the top layer of the sauce.

Chicken marinated in yoghurt becomes tender. You can also use kefir or buttermilk instead of yoghurt. The meat is then placed in the fridge for two hours so the marinade can work its magic. After this, before putting the meat in the oven, leave it on the kitchen counter for 30 minutes to reach room temperature. This way, you will take it out of the oven evenly cooked. Chicken prepared in this way is an excellent ingredient for a party salad.

Ingredients:

                        
• 450 g chicken breast
• 450 g mushrooms
• 1 leek
• 350 g canned corn
• 270 g pickled celery
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Fresh dill
• Lemon juice
• 350 g natural yoghurt
• 5 tablespoons of mayonnaise
• Granulated garlic, oregano, ground paprika
• Salt, pepper
• 1 tablespoon clarified butter + rapeseed oil for frying

Preparation:

1. Mix 130 g of yoghurt with salt, pepper, oregano, paprika, and granulated garlic, thoroughly coating the meat with the marinade. Set the meat aside in the fridge for 2 hours.
2. Roast the marinated chicken at 355°F for about 30 minutes.
3. Mix mayonnaise, natural yoghurt, chopped dill, and garlic pressed through a garlic press. Season the mixture with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
4. Cut the leek into thin slices, then scald the vegetable with boiling water (optional, if you like the strong taste of leek, you can leave the vegetable raw).
5. Drain the corn and celery from the brine.
6. Cut the cooled meat into thin slices.
7. Fry the sliced mushrooms to a golden colour in well-heated clarified butter. Do not season them with salt.
8. Mix the salad ingredients thoroughly. Leave a few tablespoons of the sauce to cover the top of the salad and sprinkle with freshly chopped dill.
9. The party salad tastes best after spending a few hours in the fridge.