Chicken Salad a la Frickin' Florida

Sigh. It wasn't supposed to turn out this way. I told myself before going for a run, Don't Forget to Buy the Raisins, Don't Forget To Buy the Raisins.


I forgot.

And I didn't have radicchio.

I forgot the hot chile.

What I made resembles nothing so much as a bizarre chicken salad I ate outside Orlando, in Confederate flag country, last July in stultifying heat, on a break from watching my niece ski round and round a single croc-populated lake, and assembled by me and my waterski pro helper from my table, because the cook had opened the restaurant by accident when he'd gone in on a holiday to check on something and people walked in, and he was too shy to turn the hungry hordes away, so was swamped, in the weeds, buried.


The original idea for this is Antonio Bugialli, and though he won't say it, I imagine it is Sicilian in its sympathies. Sweet (raisins), and hot (chiles).


I will make the real one and post it here but the Floridian version tasted quite reassuring ina '70's way and worked, though it is so not proper.

So, 2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
1 red onion thinly sliced
Leaves
1 side of an apple finely cubed
1 quarter pineapple, hard core removed, same


Make a vinaigrette from 6 tablespoons olive oil to 4 tablespoons sherry or red wine vinegar (not one's normal vinaigrette - heavy on the acid)...1tsp salt, 1 Tbsp sugar, stir to dissolve in the vinegar and THEN add the olive oil. Otherwise the seasonings just stay separate and crunchy. Assemble chicken, fruit and onion in a bowl and pour over the vinaigrette. Crack over black pepper. Leave, covered in the fridge for a couple of hours if you can.


When ready to serve, arrange leaves in a bowl , put chicken mixture on top, and toss with your hands. Rearrange and wipe bowl and lap it up.


This really isn't me. But I confess. I liked it.