Turkish Chicken Salad with Home-made Cacik Yogurt Sauce

13 steps · 45 min total

1. 01

   Prepare the Cacik Cucumber

   For the Cacik, finely chop the cucumber into tiny pieces and place them in a bowl. Cover the chopped cucumber with salt and set aside for 30 minutes. The salt will draw out the cucumber's juices, which will later add a nice tang to the yogurt.

2. 02

   Char the Peppers

   Place a griddle pan over medium-high heat. Toss the jalapeño peppers with olive oil, then add them to the hot pan and char them until softened and lightly blackened.
3. 03

   Chop Salsa Ingredients

   Cut the tomatoes and cucumber into medium pieces. Slice the red onion as thinly as possible, then finely chop the parsley.
4. 04

   Dress the Salsa

   Combine the chopped tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and parsley in a bowl. Pour in the juice of 1 lemon, then season with salt and pepper.
5. 05

   Chill the Salsa

   Refrigerate the salsa for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring it a couple of times. This allows the flavors to meld and the vegetables to release some of their juices.
6. 06

   Tear the Lettuce

   Tear the gem lettuce into bite-sized pieces.
7. 07

   Prepare Cabbage and Carrot

   Thinly slice the red cabbage and grate the carrot.
8. 08

   Combine Salad Base

   Combine the torn lettuce, sliced red cabbage, and grated carrot in a large bowl.
9. 09

   Add Chicken

   Tear the roast chicken into large pieces and add them to the bowl with the salad base.
10. 10

    Retrieve Salsa

    Take the tomato salsa out of the fridge.
11. 11

    Add Salsa and Gherkins

    Drain the excess juice from the tomato salsa and set it aside; this will be your salsa vinaigrette. Add the tomato, cucumber, parsley, and onion mix to the chicken salad, along with the sliced pickled gherkins.
12. 12

    Arrange the Salad

    Arrange the assembled chicken salad on a large plate or chopping board.
13. 13

    Serve

    Serve the assembled salad with the charred jalapeño peppers, the prepared Cacik, the reserved salsa vinaigrette, and some chili sauce on the side.