Whipped Up: Spring Chicken Salad Toasts

Surrounded as we are by all things beautiful, we tend to find style in just about everything: from gorgeous product packaging and the perfect shade of red lipstick to meals and morsels that look as fabulous as they taste. Below, Jennifer gets inspired to ladies’ lunch with Smitten Kitchen’s delish spring.

Ingredients:

  • 2 to 3 large toasts
  • 1 large skin-on, bone-in chicken breast (about 12 to 14 oz.)
  • About 2½ tablespoons olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 Tbs. white wine vinegar
  • ½ small cucumber, halved, thinly sliced
  • 1 small celery rib, sliced thin
  • 3 radishes, quartered lengthwise, sliced thin
  • 1 scallion, sliced thin
  • 1 Tbs. chopped dill, chives, or parsley, or a mix, for garnish
  • 3 Tbs. crème fraîche
  • 1½ tsp. prepared horseradish, liquid drained off, plus more to taste
  • 2 to 3 thin slices rye, pumpernickel, or another dense health bread, toasted

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 425°. Place chicken on a small-rimmed baking sheet and rub with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and roast until golden brown and cooked through, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool, then remove skin and bones and shred meat into bite-size pieces.
  2. Place shredded chicken in a medium bowl and toss with 1½ tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper until evenly coated. Add cucumber, celery, radishes, and scallion to salad and toss to combine. Adjust salt, pepper, and vinegar to taste.
  3. For the horseradish crème fraîche, combine crème fraîche, horseradish, and a couple of pinches of salt in a small dish and stir to combine.
  4. Heap salad on two to three toasts. Serve with a dollop of horseradish crème fraîche and garnish with herbs.