Ina Garten Never Makes Chicken Salad Without One Secret Ingredient
When it comes to a quick and easy chicken salad, the basic recipe is pretty straightforward. Shredded chicken, mayo, celery, onion, and seasonings are common ingredients for this dish. However, when Ina Garten creates her version of it, she likes to separate hers from the deli-counter versions that grace a table by adding one particular herb that she has dubbed "her secret ingredient": Fresh tarragon. While this spice is a simple addition, it adds a subtle hint of anise or licorice taste and a bit of a citrus note.
What exactly is tarragon? It is a long, green, and slender herb. In fact, it resembles a blade of grass. You often find it in French cooking. This single ingredient keeps a typical chicken salad from tasting bland, adding a little complexity to the overall flavor. When the Barefoot Contessa adds it to her recipe, she creates a truly creamy version of this meal by using half sour cream, half mayo. She also adds pecan and walnut halves, along with some grapes, to her chicken salad, making it a hybrid that straddles a chicken and Waldorf salad.
Garten uses her secret ingredient two ways
How much fresh tarragon does Ina Garten add to her chicken salad? Not a lot. While tarragon elevates, too much can quickly take a bite from delicate and bright to overwhelming and bitter. A quarter to a half a tablespoon is plenty. Remember, you can always add more if it isn't hitting your taste buds with the punch you are hoping for.
Garten uses her tarragon in two ways. She mixes in half of what she plans to use and then sprinkles the other half over the salad as a garnish. If fresh tarragon isn't available, you can use the dried variety. Be aware that dried tarragon loses some of the citrusy flavor. The cookbook author is a fan of this dish because you can easily make it ahead of time before entertaining guests, and it tastes delicious. If you like the French flair this herb gives to chicken salad, use tarragon to enhance the taste of tuna salad. It will change the way you experience these easy meal staples.