Jalapeño Chicken Salad

This grand-prize winning salad in our Chicken Salads contest stole the show with its balanced flavors and simple preparation. Pickled jalapeños are a unique addition that brings a lot to the salad. When we made Dawn’s salad, here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

• Pickled jalapeño peppers add a bright, spicy flavor and crunchy texture to the salad.
• Chicken salad is a great use for chicken left over from the night before or the rotisserie chickens sold by many chain restaurants and supermarkets. Any meat can be used--dark meat tends to be moister.
• Cilantro stems have just as much flavor as the leaves, so you don’t have to be too thorough when picking and chopping the herb for the salad.