Salpicão Recipe (Brazilian Style Chicken Salad)

This delicious and light salad recipe was passed down to me by my Mom. Thank you Mamãe!

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 2 smoked chicken breasts sheered into very small pieces*
• 1 large green apple, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 cup raisins
• ½ cup canned pineapple, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 can Media Crema (Table Cream)*
• ½ cup light mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 day old small loaf of French bread, cut into 1-inch pieces (optional)
• 2 tablespoons tarragon, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 6 cups mixed greens, like arugula, baby spinach, lettuce, radicchio

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix the smoked chicken, green apple, lime juice, raisins and pineapple.

In a small bowl, mix the table cream and the light mayonnaise until incorporated. Set aside.

In a medium size skillet heat the olive oil. Add the bread, stir well and close the lid. Cook for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more olive oil if necessary. Set aside and let it cool for a few minutes.

Add the mayonnaise mix to the bowl of smoked chicken and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Gently fold in the tarragon and the bread. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and serve it immediately over a bed of mixed greens.

Notes:

You can buy smoked chicken breast at your specialty grocery store, or you can make your own. Just make sure you don't buy the deli kind, because that it not the right one.

I made my own smoked chicken. It is an easy process and here are the step-by-step instructions:

1. Brine the chicken (this will assure that the chicken will be moist)  – in a sellable container mix 4 cups of water, ½ cup salt, and ½ cup sugar (or honey.) Add the breasts, seal it tightly and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Remove from the container and transfer the breasts to a work surface.
2. Season the chicken – use a rub.
3. Preheat the grill to low, or use a smoker (preferably)
4. Cook the chicken breasts over indirect low heat for about 1 ½ hours, or until cooked through. Remove from grill and let it cool.

You can find the Media Crema (Table Cream) at the Latin section of your grocery store, or next to the condensed milk aisle.

Pineapple is optional. It definitely gives a sweeter taste to the salad which some people really love!

The sauté bread in olive oil is also optional; in fact the traditional Salpicão doesn’t have bread in it. I have decided to combine an Italian bread salad called “Panzanella” with the Brazilian chicken salad. The bread added a crunch bite to this recipe.

Nutrition Facts:

6 Servings

Amount Per Serving
 
Calories 398.5
 
Total Fat 18.7 g

Cholesterol 78.1 mg

Sodium 253.5 mg

Potassium 529.7 mg

Total Carbohydrate 38.8 g

Dietary Fiber 2.3 g

Sugars 20.4 g

Protein 21.5 g

I was excited to introduce some typical Brazilian flavors to our friends Liz and John! We had this Salpicão recipe as a first course, and Brazilian style “Salmon with Coconut Milk and Cashews” as a main course. For dessert I made “Guava and Cheese Mousse”.  We had a great time riding our bikes around town before dinner – I think we deserved some great food after all the work out!

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