Cool chicken salad for the hot days

This next week, with temps spiking into triple digits, is when we all pull out our favorite hot-weather dinner recipes. I have a new one to add to my list: this chicken-cabbage salad, made without mayonnaise.

The salad features a nut-based dressing, just a bit of spice and plenty of fresh-from-the-garden herbs. Add your own cucumbers if you have them already; I used store-bought but peeled them (personal taste).

For the meat I relied on shredded rotisserie chicken, which saves time and doesn't heat up the kitchen, thank goodness.

My garden supplied the chile peppers as well as the herbs, but for more of a punch, stir a few drops of hot sauce into the dressing. 

This recipe is freely adapted from a New York Times recipe, and leaves plenty of room for personal touches. For example: Top the salad with fried wonton strips or sliced almonds if you're not fond of cashews. Or substitute celery for the cucumber. Even leave out the chicken and instead add two drained cans of chickpeas. The goal, after all, is to keep everything cool.

Chicken-cashew salad

Serves 4 to 6 as an entree

Ingredients:

For the dressing:

3 tablespoons peanut butter, cashew butter or almond butter

3 tablespoons water

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

3 tablespoons oil, all one kind or a mix (I used 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon sesame oil)

2 tablespoons coconut aminos or soy sauce

2 teaspoons agave syrup or honey

2 medium-hot chilies, such as jalapenos, trimmed and finely chopped (remove seeds for less heat)

1 garlic clove, smashed and minced

Salt and ground black pepper

Hot sauce, optional

For the salad:

8 cups shredded green or red cabbage, about half a medium-size head

1/2 carrot, shredded, optional

3 cups (12 ounces) shredded cooked chicken

2 small or 1-1/2 large cucumbers, peeled if desired, then cut in quarters lengthwise and sliced

1 cup mixed tender herbs, such as basil, cilantro, mint and/or parsley, coarsely chopped, plus some leaves for garnish

1/2 cup or more roasted salted cashews, coarsely chopped

Instructions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the nut butter and 3 tablespoons of water until the mixture is smooth. Slowly stir in the lime juice, oil of choice, and the coconut aminos or soy sauce. Then stir in the agave or honey and the chopped chilies and minced garlic. Taste and adjust seasonings, with salt and pepper and, if desired, a few drops of hot sauce. Set aside.

Place the shredded cabbage in a large salad bowl, along with the shredded carrot, if using. Drizzle about one-third of the dressing over the cabbage, and mix well, coating it as much as possible. 

Then add the chicken, and drizzle in some more (but not all) of the remaining dressing. Continue to mix it -- using (clean) hands works well.

If you plan to serve immediately, let the salad sit for a few minutes before adding anything else. After 5 minutes or so, add the cucumber and the chopped herbs, and any of the remaining dressing to taste. (You may not need all the dressing.) Stir in some of the cashews now if desired.

If not serving immediately, wait to add the cucumbers, herbs, cashews and additional dressing until just before serving.

When ready to serve, top the salad with the rest of the chopped cashews and, if desired, the extra herb leaves.