Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad

Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad - Easy chicken salad filled with tender chicken, dried cranberries, walnuts, apples, celery, dill and parsley. For a healthier option, you can use Greek yogurt in the dressing and serve the chicken salad on lettuce instead of bread for a healthier meal.

Poached Chicken:
1 cup white vinegar
1 head garlic, cut horizontally
1 stick cinnamon
1 dried bay leaf
½ tsp. ground ginger
2 Tbsp. sea salt
3 (8 oz) chicken breast

Salad:
1¼ cups California walnuts, chopped
¾ cup mayonnaise
½ cup celery, chopped into small pieces (1 large rib)
1 shallot, finely chopped
¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp. lemon zest, finely grated
3 Tbsp. lemon juice, freshly juiced
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground

To Serve:
½ cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
sliced bread
lettuce leaves

Make the Poached Chicken:
Combine 4 cups water, vinegar, garlic, cinnamon, bay leaves, ginger and salt in a medium pot. Nestle chicken into mixture, making sure it's fully submerged. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, until chicken is just cooked through and the thickest part reads 165°F on an instant read thermometer, about 12 minutes.

Remove from heat and use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer chicken to a cutting board. Let cool then, dice chicken.

Make the Salad:
In a large skillet, toast the walnuts over medium-high, stirring constantly, until golden, about 8 minutes. Scrape onto a plate and let cool.

In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, celery, shallot, parsley and lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper. Add the diced chicken and cranberries. Crumble 1 cup of the walnuts over top and toss to combine.

Top with a handful of cranberries and crumble the remaining ¼ cup walnuts over top. Serve with bread and lettuce to make sandwiches.

Makes 6-8 servings.