By Mama arrived Tuesday afternoon at the apartment. The ten days have begun. Mama has been in the kitchen with me at six AM every morning since Wednesday cooking, prepping, freezer-stocking. The freezer at the apartment is growing at the rate of about four single-meal portions a day. By the end of the ten-day stretch the freezer will be at sixty-plus portions.
Sunday I made golden chicken salad puffs because Mama had asked for a small Sunday brunch dish and the puff format is the elegant catering-style version of chicken salad I had been doing for catering jobs in 2019 before the pregnancy. Pâte à choux puffs split and filled with curry-spiced chicken salad. The dish reads as brunch-restaurant-special at home.
The procedure: make the puff shells from a basic pâte à choux dough — bring a half-cup of water, a half-cup of milk, a stick of butter, a teaspoon of sugar, and a half-teaspoon of salt to a boil in a saucepan. Stir in one cup of flour all at once. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan (about two minutes). Transfer to a mixing bowl, cool five minutes. Beat in four eggs one at a time. Pipe golf-ball-sized rounds onto a parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake at four-twenty-five for twenty-five minutes. Cool, split, fill with a curry chicken salad (shredded chicken, mayo, Greek yogurt, curry powder, golden raisins, slivered almonds, scallions). Twenty puffs.
Golden Chicken Salad Puffs
Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 24 puffs
Ingredients
- For the puffs:
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs
- For the chicken salad filling:
- 3 cups cooked chicken breast, finely diced
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup celery, finely diced
- 1/4 cup red grapes, quartered
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Make the choux dough. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine water, butter, and salt. Bring to a rolling boil. Add flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan and forms a smooth ball, about 1–2 minutes.
- Cool slightly, then add eggs. Remove pan from heat and let dough cool for 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until the dough is smooth, glossy, and holds a soft peak when you lift the spoon.
- Pipe or scoop. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Smooth any peaks with a dampened finger.
- Bake until golden. Bake for 22–25 minutes, until puffs are deep golden and feel hollow when tapped. Do not open the oven during the first 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
- Make the filling. In a large bowl, combine diced chicken, mayonnaise, celery, grapes, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and garlic powder. Stir until evenly coated. Fold in toasted almonds. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Fill the puffs. Using a serrated knife, slice the top third off each cooled puff. Spoon or pipe 2 heaping tablespoons of chicken salad into each puff. Replace the tops at a slight angle so the filling is visible. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.
- Serve. Arrange on a platter and serve immediately, or refrigerate uncovered for up to 2 hours before serving.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 148 | Protein: 9g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 6g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 142mg