Heart Healthy Chicken Salad

Friday, February 5th is National Wear Red Day® sponsored by The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute to encourage women to better understand their own heart health, risk factors, and ways to decrease heart disease among women. Robin Sue from The Big Red Kitchen is hosting her own take on the day, with a round-up of Heart Healthy recipes. So, get out that red dress, Ladies.  Or, tee shirt.  And, cook heart healthy.

My contribution, a Chicken Salad, with olives and carambola slices.  Carambola or starfruit is juicy and mildly citrusy, a terrific combination with the tangy, black Kalamata olives and tender, succulent chicken.  That birdy was especially moist, as I did the Ruhlman Brined Roast Chicken thing (which he posted last week) on Sunday and had a nice supply of the best ever cooked chicken on hand.  I will be doing that a lot.

For additional heart healthy recipes, the Mayo Clinic has an extensive list, and also check out Robin Sue's round-up on her site after Friday.

Chicken Salad with Olives and Carambola

1 cup cooked, chopped chicken
handful of torn romaine lettuce
handful of torn red leaf or Manoa lettuce
handful of watercress or arugula leaves
6 or 7 black olives, sliced in half
2 starfruit (carambolas), sliced and seeded
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup sliced cucumber
1/4 red onion, minced (optional)

Dressing

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice or vinegar (I used lemon juice and Balsamic vinegar)
1 bruised clove of garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Shake together in a jar and use about 3 tablespoons for your salad.  The rest will keep nicely in the fridge for a week or so. I arranged the fruit on top after tossing the salad with dressing.  Serve with fresh bread and a soup, if you have some really hungry guys.  The salad and bread were enough for us.