Recipe: Spicy Chicken Salad Sandwich with Avocado and Watercress

It’s easy to elevate the sandwich from a basic lunch or casual dinner item to something with a bit more pizzazz. And, a sandwich can be a great idea for busy weeknights or as the weather heats up and you don’t want to turn on the oven or stove. Chef and cookbook author Nancy Silverton, the former owner of Los Angeles’s famed La Brea Bakery, raised the art of sandwich-making, and in this recipe, which she created for Real Food, chicken salad is jazzed up with a little heat from chipotle peppers and topped off with good-for-you creamy avocado slices. Picking up a ready-made rotisserie chicken at the grocery store makes it even easier!


Spicy Chicken Salad Sandwich with Avocado and Watercress

Serves 4

1 c. mayonnaise
¼ c. chopped cilantro leaves
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
6 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp. lime juice
2 tsp. puréed chipotle peppers in adobo (canned)
1 tsp. salt
1 roasted chicken, meat removed and shredded

2 c. watercress (preferably live), stems removed
8 slices country white sourdough
1 large avocado
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
1 lime, cut into quarters

Combine mayonnaise, cilantro, olive oil, garlic, lime juice, puréed chipotle, and salt in a small bowl and stir to mix. Place shredded chicken in a large bowl. Add three-quarters of mayonnaise mixture and toss to coat. Add remainder of mayonnaise mixture if necessary to coat chicken thoroughly.

Place ½ cup of watercress on each of 4 slices of bread. Spread chicken salad in an even layer over the watercress, dividing equally. Cut avocado in half and slice into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Fan about 5 slices of avocado out over chicken. Drizzle olive oil over avocado. Top with a squeeze of lime and salt and pepper to taste. Cover with other half of bread and serve.
 

Mary Subialka is the editor of Real Food and Drinks magazines, covering the flavorful world of food, wine, and spirits. She rarely meets a chicken she doesn’t like, and hopes that her son, who used to eat beets and Indian food as a preschooler, will one day again think of real food as more than something you need to eat before dessert and be inspired by his younger brother, who is now into trying new foods.