The beauty of cooking things is that you don't always have to cook all of the pieces. And the sum of all of the pieces is great than each part so ... using ready-made ingredients is just smart!
There is a special category of recipes called: rotisserie chicken magic. Here, you'll take a rotisserie chicken, rip it up, toss it with a lovely sauce and serve it in lettuce cups. So yummy food, fun presentation, and amazed family! Win! Also, this is a recipe you are supposed to eat with your hands. Also, win!
You can spice this up or down, depending on your preference. That's the other great thing about being the chef: you get to decide how spicy -- or not! -- the dish will be!
Red Curry Chicken Salad Lettuce Cups
Yield: 4 - 5 servings
Ingredients
1 T coconut or vegetable oil
3 T red curry paste
1 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tsp honey
½ tsp fine salt, plus more
½ medium red onion, finely chopped (soaked in a bit of cool water to reduce the bit, if you desire)
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 T capers, chopped
2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded into bite-size pieces (roughly one bird, with or without the skin, as you like)
⅓ cup chopped cilantro (as fine as you like)
2 heads of Little Gem lettuce or romaine hearts, leaves separated
⅓ cup almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped
Directions
Heat 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a small saucepan over medium. Cook 3 Tbsp. red curry paste, stirring often, until fragrant and slightly darkened and beginning to stick to bottom of pan, about 2 minutes. Scrape into a large bowl; let cool 5 minutes.
To the curry paste, stir in yogurt, lime juice, honey, and salt.
Add red onion (well drained, if you soaked it), celery stalk, capers, shredded rotisserie chicken, and chopped cilantro to dressing and toss well to coat. Taste and season with more salt if needed.
Arrange 2 heads of Little Gem lettuce or romaine hearts, leaves separated, on plates. Scoop about 2 Tbsp. chicken salad onto each leaf. Top with ⅓ cup coarsely chopped almonds.
Enjoy!