Chicken Salad with Pineapple and Curry

Time to Picnic

Pineapple illustration in pastel by Vicki Smith

Pineapples are universal symbols of hospitality and wealth. The trees are native to tropical and subtropical America, originating in Brazil, but have been introduced to other parts of the world.  Reportedly, Christopher Columbus was the first European to taste the fruit, along with his crew, in the Caribbean.  The inhabitants hung pineapples in front of their entrances to signal that they were welcoming to strangers. Perhaps a custom they came to regret. Columbus returned to Spain with pineapples, but I can’t imagine how they survived the trip without refrigeration. Once introduced to Europeans, the pineapple represented wealth since they were costly to transport halfway around the world. Eventually, they were grown in hothouses in cooler climes.

The aesthetic appeal of the pineapple as a design element can be seen in both England and Colonial America.  The architect Christopher Wren designed two golden pineapples to cap the north towers of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London that was completed in 1710. The famed textile designer William Morris used pineapple motifs in the 1800s to create his intricate and lush wallpaper designs that are still reproduced today. In Colonial America the pineapple motif decorated bed posts, was embroidered on linens, sewn onto quilts and impressed on canvas floor coverings. The silhouette of the pineapple, with its spiky leaves and bulbous fruit, is distinctive and eye-catching.

This chicken salad recipe was dictated to me over the phone some years ago by my childhood friend Jan. I still have the scrap of parchment paper that I used to write down the ingredients. It has a scribbled address in the corner and a notation for an appointment, both now meaningless to me. This is a favorite recipe in our house, so thank you Jan. It also would satisfy one of the squares in my summer Bingo game since it makes an ideal sandwich on pita for a picnic. I must admit that I leave out the celery and it does call for canned, not fresh, pineapple.  Let me know if you decide to make it using fresh pineapple.

Ingredients for Salad

4 cups shredded chicken

1/4 cup chopped celery

2 T. chopped red onion or scallions

1/3 cup chopped almonds

1/3 cup raisins

Ingredients for Dressing

1 eight oz. can crushed pineapple

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 T. Dijon mustard

3/4 t. curry powder (more to taste)

1/8 t. salt

Directions

Place chicken, celery, onions, almonds, and raisins in a large mixing bowl. In a separate small bowl mix together the ingredients for the dressing. Mix well. Pour the dressing into the larger bowl containing the chicken. Toss everything together. Serve as a sandwich or with a crisp, tossed salad.

Welcome new subscribers and thank you to everyone for reading!

Vicki