Chicken, Walnut and Watercress Sandwiches
Photography Aaron McLean.
Buy a cooked chicken or use the poached chicken recipe to make these delicious sandwiches based on the flavours in a classic Waldorf Salad. Use only very fresh walnuts otherwise the filling may taste rancid. Generously buttered bread is the key to a good sandwich, as the butter not only helps the filling stick to the bread, but also helps maintain freshness.
INGREDIENTS
4 cups diced, cooked chicken
2-3 cups picked watercress
21 slices thin sandwich bread, (I used whole-grain)
butter at room temperature for spreading
Mayonnaise
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ cup walnuts, roasted and finely chopped
½ cup finely diced celery
finely grated zest 1 lemon
1 clove garlic clove
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons chopped chives
METHOD
Combine all the ingredients except the chicken in a large bowl. Season well. Add the chicken and gently combine.
To assemble: Butter each slice of bread. Lay out 7 slices, buttered side up and divide the chicken filling between them. Don’t push it down flat as the sandwiches need to look full and inviting. Top with a second slice of bread, buttered side down and butter the top side.
Cover with a good layer of watercress and top with the remaining bread. Cut off the crusts using a very sharp bread knife or electric knife. Cut each sandwich into three fingers.
If making ahead of time, cover with a damp tea towel to ensure they don’t dry out. Makes 21 finger sandwiches
Cook’s tips:
One whole, cooked chicken will yield 4 cups of diced meat.
Look for roasted, free-range chickens in good supermarkets and food stores.
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In Dream Escape, we journey from Japan and Morocco to Italy, India and beyond, sharing recipes inspired by travel, heritage and comfort. We celebrate the champions of the Outstanding Food Producer Awards, explore the stories and recipes of chefs shaped by their cultural roots, and warm up with everything from West African soups and slow-braised lamb to porchetta, butter chicken and beef noodle soup. Alongside destination menus, Scandinavian sweets and cosy pub classics, Chrisanne Terblanche shares her favourite street-side dining spots in Bangkok, while Yvonne Lorkin explores red wine varietals. This issue, we invite you to slow down, turn the pages and escape through food.