Mexican Chicken Salad with Black Bean Salsa

It was my turn to host book club and our choice of the month was Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. With a book like that, I wanted to stick to a main dish that mostly vegetables and was seasonal. I wanted it to be one dish and filling. In addition, I had a gluten-free member attending. Nigella's Mexican Chicken Salad fit the bill perfectly.

I found it is easiest to shred the chicken by hand; I used skinless, boneless chicken breasts that had been cooked in an oven and cooled before shredding.

I had never made anything with jicama before. I wasn't even pronouncing it correctly before this recipe. I made the salsa first so the flavors could marinate.

Mexican Chicken Salad with Black Bean Salsa

For the Dressing:

1 ripe avocado
1/2 cup sour cream, reduced-fat
3 Tbsp lime juice
1 clove of garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp table salt
pinch of black pepper

Place all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. It can be kept covered in the fridge for several days.

For the salad:
2 1/2 cups shredded chicken
1 lb jicama, peeled and cut into matchsticks
4 scallions, finely shredded
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
3 cups shredded romaine lettuce

Put all the salad ingredients into a bowl, spoon over the dressing and toss with tongs to get everything coated.

Tomato and Black Bean Salsa:
1 15 oz can black beans, well rinsed
2 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp salt

Mix everything. If it's too hot, you can take the edge off with a teaspoon of sugar.

Assemble the salad with the salsa on top and decorate with scallions and cilantro.

Thankfully, I had some of the dressing leftover. It was so delicious. I had it on a salad a few days later and also used it as a dip.