Hot American Chicken Salad

I've taken this recipe from Some Food for Thoughts - a cookery book sold in aid of Le Court Cheshire Home, Hampshire and other charities. This is a great amalgamation of recipes from residents in the care home, their friends and families - ranging from Chiang Mai Noodle Soup to Roast Monkfish and Pancetta with Herbs and loads inbetween. I'm not sure if it's available on the Internet but do get in touch with me if you'd like to know of any other recipes or details or how to order one.

This salad is so incredibly simple but wonderfully mayonnaisey and decadent and lets face it if the sun's out you don't want to be slaving over a hot stove or doing anything with chickpeas... do you really? We poached the chicken in stock the night before so it was all ready to go the next day.

HOT AMERICAN CHICKEN SALAD
Serves 4 

Ok so it's just cheese but I LOVE CHEESE

340g (12oz) cooked chicken, chopped quite small
4 sticks celery, finely sliced
4 spring onions, finely sliced
1/2 pint mayonnaise
2 tsp lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper
113g (4oz) cheddar cheese, grated

For the topping:
1/2 packet kettle potato chips, crumbled
a little bit of paprika

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F. You will need an ovenproof dish for this - we used a medium sized rectangular one - you need to be careful not to overcook this or the sauce will separate!

1. Put all the ingredients into a bowl with 85g of the cheddar cheese, season and mix together. The cheese will be quite salty so taste it before adding too much salt.

2. Turn into a shallow ovenproof dish, top with the remaining cheese, crisps and dash of paprika. We added some tobasco do this - just a few drizzles over the top should do.

3. Bake at 200C for 10-15 mins.

Finished Chicken Salad