Crispy Chicken Salad With Spinach, Cauliflower & Pickle-Brine Dressing

Author Notes

The hunger gap is farmer speak for the time in late spring when all of the winter storage crops are gone, but the bounty of summer production is not yet in full force. In short, it is when you go to a farmers market on a warm, sunny day hoping to get green beans and zucchini, only to find tender greens and radishes. This salad bridges the gap by combining golden, crispy chicken, evocative of summer picnics, with the vegetables that do best in May’s fickle weather.

It also utilizes two of our favorite kitchen hacks involving mayo—a faster way to bread anything for pan-frying and an unreasonably delicious dressing that comes together in a blink.

First, the breading. Traditionally, to bread a chicken breast (or eggplant rounds, fish fillets, or tofu slabs), you need three steps: flour, egg, and bread crumbs. With one hand, you’d dredge the ingredient in flour, then, with the other hand, you’d transfer it to the egg, and then over to the bread crumbs. But in this recipe, you’ll simply blot the chicken breasts dry, use a knife to schmear mayo on all sides, and then press in the bread crumbs When frying, the egg protein in the mayo bonds to the protein surface of the chicken, making a strong and stable crust.

Second, the pickle dressing. Classic vinaigrettes are three parts fat (such as olive oil) to one part acidity (like vinegar or lemon juice). This dressing is roughly 1 part mayo (the fat) to two parts acidity (leftover pickle liquid after the pickles are long gone). There is more acidity than fat because mayo is thicker than oil, and pickle liquid is less acidic than vinegar, and so the ratio skews toward the acidity. Two other nice things about this dressing: It uses up an ingredient that normally goes down the drain. And it’s a great way to get the last of the mayo—just pour the pickle liquid into an almost empty jar and shake. —abraberens

Test Kitchen Notes

Every month, in Eat Your Vegetables, chef, Ruffage cookbook author, and former farmer Abra Berens shares a seasonal recipe that puts vegetables front and center (where they should be!). Missed an installment? Head here to catch up. —The Editors