Marshall Fields Tarragon Chicken Salad
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I love recreating restaurant dishes for my family; especially since we moved several years ago from Illinois to Michigan. There are so many childhood memories tied to food, that I didn’t want them to forget about their hometown. Portillo’s beef sandwiches, Gene & Jude’s hot dogs, Barnaby’s Pizza, everything from the Bob Chinn’s menu and so many more amazing places and foods! This recipe is one, that I made just for myself!
This chicken salad is inspired by one of my guilty pleasures during my first pregnancy. I would often spend my lunch hour with a paperback at the corner table in the deli that was inside the Marshall Field’s department store (now Macy’s). My order was always the same, the Marshall Field’s Chicken Salad. Sometimes as a sandwich, but most of the time I would enjoy it from the deli container that they scooped it into!!
I've seen copycat recipes over the years that are full of grapes, raisins, craisins, and nuts. In full disclosure, it has been 24 years since I spent all those hours eating chicken salad at the deli, but I don't remember any of those extras in the salad. I do remember lots of celery and fresh herbs. That was the approach I took when trying to recreate the chicken salad. If you like the fruit and nuts, go for it. Let me know how it turns out!
A few things that I love about this version. There’s a small amount of mayonnaise, making this a lighter chicken salad than others I’ve eaten at restaurants. It's a great way to repurpose leftover chicken into something completely different for lunch the next day! No leftover chicken in your refrigerator? Grab a rotisserie from the market! Please don’t skip the herbs! Either fresh or dried, the herbs add amazing freshness to this recipe! If you don't like tarragon, substitute what you do like. Basil, oregano, or rosemary all complement chicken.
The day I made this chicken salad, I happened to get lucky and find these brioche lobster roll type buns (yum), but this is lovely in a croissant, or open-faced on an English muffin. My daughter rolls the chicken salad into a tortilla and makes a wrap out of it. Or if you’re like me, eat it out of the bowl you made it in!
Marshall Field's Tarragon Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Instructions
- Combine the chicken, celery and carrots. Set aside.
- Blend grated onion, tarragon, garlic powder, salt, pepper and mayonnaise
- Toss chicken mixture with dressing. Chill
- Chicken salad can be topped with sliced almonds.
- Serve on your favorite roll, or on top of a bed of lettuce.
Feeling Social? If you try this recipe, please share a photo so I can see your dish!
Go make some memories in your kitchen!
