Ever had a craving for something that you first tasted years ago but haven’t thought about for ages? Recently, I’ve had a hankering for a chicken salad sandwich but not just ANY chicken salad sandwich – one that I used to order at a tiny sandwich place back in Adelaide in the late 80s/ early 90s. The place was called The Upper Crust and it was one of the very first “gourmet” sandwich shops I remember. My dad’s office was around the corner and they used to “order in” from there for boardroom lunches. I thought the sandwiches were SO fancy.
When I was little, the sandwiches I ate were definitely not fancy (faves included Vegemite, ham, cheese, peanut butter – or peanut paste as we called it back then!) so these sandwiches felt quite decadent. My favourite filling wasn’t super innovative – chicken salad on multigrain bread – but it had cashew nuts in it and I remember thinking “Why didn’t I think of this?” I was never one for mayonnaise-based salad fillings for sandwiches (sometimes it’s just too one dimensional in terms of texture) and not only did this have crunch from the nuts but also, it was not heavy or too rich as some mayo-based dressings on salads can feel.
A few weeks ago, something got me thinking about this sandwich and I found myself wondering if it really was as good as I remember it or if I was just blown away by something a little bit more “gourmet” than I was used to in my sandwich filling! I started experimenting with different combinations of ingredients to get this *just right* (or, perhaps, just like I remember it) and finally settled on a combination of mayo and Greek yoghurt to cut the richness of the dressing. To serve it, I played with sliced bread, baguette and finally decided that it is the perfect filling for a croissant (though it’s not true to memory!).
This is perfect for a quick sandwich if you have a little bit of leftover, cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken is the best for this!) and you’ve probably got the rest of the ingredients on hand. It’s a nice way to fancy up a sandwich for lunch when you are working from home!
Easy chicken salad served in a croissant!Cashew Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Ingredients
Instructions
What about you – is there something you remember eating ages ago that you are craving years later?
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This was a perfect lunch croissant!
Something I remember eating ages ago that you are craving years later? Hmmm…I’d have to think a bit.
But, oddly, my mother’s kidney & curried rice comes to mind!
Yeah well, uh, I don’t think I’ll be recreating that anytime soon LOL!