CEiMB: Waldorf Chicken Wraps

This weeks Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe was chosen by Jessica at Johnstone’s Vin Blanc. I realized as I read through the recipe that although I have heard often of Waldorf Salads, I have never actually made or eaten one! I’m not sure how that came to be … I suppose it is not the kind of meal that I would order in a restaurant, and I seldom make meat based salads at home … so it was a great opportunity to try something new.

Waldorf Chicken Wraps
2006, Ellie Krieger, All rights reserved

Serves: 5 servings

Preface:

I used my own home made yogurt, which didn’t need much draining.

I can’t buy Dijon mustard here, so I substituted regular mustard.

I used dried thyme instead of fresh.

I forgot to order grapes to be brought into my local tienda when I ordered the wraps, so I substituted raisins at the last minute.

Walnuts are another food item that is difficult to find here, and outrageously expensive when you do find it .. so I substituted toasted peanuts.

Romaine lettuce is sometimes available in the market, but it wasn’t this week. Besides, I have that tender small-leafed spinach growing in my garden, and some fresh basil left in the refrigerator to use … so I chopped them and mixed them together.

I tried to get larger wraps, to no avail. I’m not a big fan of store-bought breads, but have never learned to make my own wraps, so I seldom eat them.

Ingredients:

1 cup nonfat plain yogurt or 3/4 cups nonfat Greek-style yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon minced thyme
1 pound cooked, skinless chicken breast cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup seedless grapes, sliced in 1/2
1/4 cup toasted, coarsely chopped walnuts
1 medium apple, cored and diced (about 3/4 cup)
Freshly ground black pepper
5 large leaves Romaine lettuce, rinsed and patted dry
5 whole-wheat wraps, about 8 inches in diameter

Instructions:

If using regular yogurt place the yogurt in a strainer lined with a paper towel. Put the strainer over a bowl and place in the refrigerator to drain and thicken for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the thickened or Greek-style yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, salt and thyme until smooth. Fold in chicken, grapes, walnuts and apples. Season with pepper.

Place 1 lettuce leaf on a wrap.

Spoon about 3/4 cup of the chicken filling onto wrap …

and roll wrap around filling.

Verdict:

The flavor of the salad itself was excellent, although it was different than the original recipe, mostly because of the basil, which I thought was an excellent addition. I served it with avocado slices on the side … not only is avocado great with sandwiches of any type, but we are smack in the middle of avocado season, and I am taking full advantage of its delicious inexpensive availability