In my quest to improve our eating habits at the Dougherty house and in direct response to the 15 pounds of bacon Ted bought at Jim's Meat Market last week- I made a relatively healthy dinner last night. About 8 years ago, we took Ted's Mom and Dad out to Stockton Island for the day. Ted's Dad, Frank, was possibly the most enthusiastic dinner/lunch/breakfast guest I have ever (or will ever) cook for and I knew he loved Indian curry. I was really into Ina Garten at the time and was inspired to make her curried couscous salad for our lunch on the dock that afternoon. I just ran across a picture from that lunch so long ago: Sadie was a nut brown four-year old, Will and Jack were shorter than me, Charlie was a sand covered toddler, Guinness, my Newfie, was standing watch at the beach and Frank was still with us. Everytime I make this salad, I travel right back to that afternoon. Sometimes a meal is so much more than just a meal- it's a key to unlock memories from the past. Since it feels like summer and I was thinking about Frank, I decided salad for dinner sounded like a grand idea. I had farro and quinoa in the cupboard, fresh curry powder from Ulf (read about the curry party here), olive oil from Tuscany and I unearthed some frozen chicken breasts in the freezer. The kids were excited about dinner until they saw the curry powder and craisins go in the bowl. I lost a good majority of my audience at that point but Ted and I had a nice, healthy dinner.
Curried Chicken Salad with Quinoa and Farro
3/4 cup non fat plain yogurt
1/2 cup good olive oil
2 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
3 to 6 tbsp curry powder (to taste)
2 cups quinoa, cooked
2 cups farro, cooked
4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 red pepper, chopped
8 green onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 cup craisins or currants
4 stalks of celery, chopped
1/2 cup silvered almonds
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup chives, chopped
Mix yogurt, olive oil, salt and curry powder in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and refrigerate for a couple hours to let the flavors develop. Serve cold.