As a hot chicken fan, Emily Walters created a Facebook group called the Fraternal Order of the Hot Chicken (FOHC) for discussion and news about favorite versions around town. Also an excellent home cook, Emily develops many of her own creations, including this salad with leftover hot chicken. The romaine and cucumber add a cool, fresh crunch while she brilliantly transforms the spicy, grease-soaked bread into croutons. She serves it with a creamy dressing, which balances out some of the heat.
Ingredients
- 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped into bite-size pieces
- ½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ medium cucumber, quartered and finely diced
- 2 handfuls grape tomatoes
- 2 cups (286 g) leftover hot chicken, removed from the bone and cut into chunks
For the Croutons
- 2 slices leftover hot chicken white bread, cut into squares
- Vegetable oil, if needed
For the Dressing
- ½ cup (120 ml) sour cream
- ½ cup (120 ml) mayonnaise
- ¼ cup (81 g) dill pickles, finely chopped
- ¼ cup (81 g) dill pickles, finely chopped
- 1½ to 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼ cup (10 g) fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Salt, if needed
How to Make It
- Combine the lettuce, onion, cucumber, tomatoes, and chicken in a large bowl. Make the Croutons
- On a baking pan covered with foil, arrange the squares of bread so that none touch. If some of them seem a little dry, you might want to toss them with vegetable oil.
- Broil the croutons on low for about 10 minutes, turning them with a spatula about halfway through the cooking time to ensure that they crisp up on each side. Set them aside to cool. Prepare the Dressing
- In a medium bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, and pickles. Add 1½ tablespoons lemon juice, parsley, and pepper, and stir to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning by adding salt if you’d like or more lemon juice, if you’d like the dressing a little thinner and more tart.
- Add the croutons to the salad mixture and drizzle with dressing before serving.
