I seem to be hooked on cumin right now. There’s something perfectly suitable for warm weather in the nutty, earthy, peppery taste of cumin. It’s not an in-your-face flavour, but packs a little heat in a nicely subdued package.
Even though I typically connect cumin with Mexican food, India is by far the largest producer and consumer of cumin. According to wikipedia – the supposed source of all knowledge – the cumin plant is native to India and belongs to the same family as parsley, while its seeds resemble caraway. But trust me, cumin has a unique taste of its own! Oh, and to top it off, cumin is mentioned in both the Old and New Testament (the books of Isaiah and Matthew). Pretty cool, huh?
Trying recipes from some of my Swedish cookbooks is always a fun challenge, but I have to confess to being a little confused by the Swedish language when it comes to certain ingredients. Just to make life interesting, “dragon” is tarragon, “koriander” is both cilantro (the green leaves) and coriander (the seeds). “Kummin” is caraway, and “spiskummin” is what we know as cumin.
This little recipe doesn’t come from any cookbook, but from my overly fertile imagination. But trust me, it works! This salad can be used to stuff a tortilla for lunch-on-the-run, fill a hamburger bun, or top a bed of lettuce. However you serve it, consider checking into Falksalt chipotle-flavoured salt as a crunchy topping. Oh. My. Goodness.
Chicken Salad with a Taste of Mexico
- Yield: 4-5 1x
Ingredients
- 2–3 pounds chicken breast or tenderloin, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 Tbsp oil
- 1/2 cup (or a little more) real mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp coarse brown mustard or dijon
- 1 tsp cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine the garlic powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper, then toss to coat all the chicken pieces.
- In a large frying pan, heat the oil, then cook the seasoned chicken until done, and the center of pieces is no longer pink. Set aside to cool.
- Combine the mayonnaise, mustard, and 1 tsp cumin. Stir in the chicken pieces, adding additional mayo as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve over a bed of lettuce, garnished with chipotle large flake salt, on a roll, or wrapped in a tortilla.
