Curry Chicken Salad and Roasted Skinny Carrots Salad

Two of my favorite food personalities are honored in this post. The curried chicken salad comes from Giada, and it is an easy, tasty, and fast recipe good for sandwiches or on top of lettuce. The roasted carrot salad comes from Smitten Kitchen, who is a huge inspiration for me in the foodie blogosphere.

I stopped by my nearest bakery, Firehook, to get fresh rolls for the sandwiches. I made the mistake of getting brioche buns which were too bready and heavy for this surprisingly refreshing chicken salad. The recipe calls for ciabatta, so look for an airier bread than I bought.

Curried Chicken Salad (adapted from Giada's Kitchen)

8 slices of pancetta (optional)
1/4 cup half sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon lime juice plus more squeezing on top of the sandwich
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
2 large chicken breasts, baked and diced
shredded radicchio
4 ciabatta rolls

1. Fry the pancetta slices in a large skillet until crispy. Drain on a paper towel and set aside for the sandwiches.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the mayo, sour cream, curry powder, lime juice, honey, and ginger.
3. Add the diced chicken and stir to coat with the dressing.
4. Slice the rolls in half and assemble a sandwich stacking the pancetta and radicchio along with a squeeze of lemon juice on top of a generous serving of curried chicken salad.

Though it's listed second, the roasted carrot salad is the star of this post. I love this recipe because of avocado and carrot combination, and I love it even more with the fresh, skinny, carrots I've bought from the farmer's market these last three weeks. The carrots are long and skinny and the flavor is concentrated and bright. These carrots are really pretty in this dish, and they also provide a satisfyingly salty and sweet taste from the curry powder and the carrots.

Roasted carrot and avocado salad (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

1 pound carrots (I used my lovely skinny carrots)
salt, pepper, curry powder or cumin

olive oil
lemon juice
1/2 or a whole avocado, depends on your love of the fruit

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 °F
2. Scrub the carrots or peel them if they're a bit bigger. Cut them into segments.
3. Toss the carrots with olive oil, salt, pepper, and the spice of your choice.
4. Spread the carrots in a roasting pan, and roast the carrots for 20-30 minutes, or until tender.
5. Once the carrots are roasted, arrange them on a serving platter and top them with the avocados, a bit of olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper if necessary.