Dairy free chicken salad endive cups with homemade aioli

This is a perfect leftover recipe! Take your leftover chicken (or turkey leftovers this Thanksgiving) and boil up some quinoa to enjoy this easy, healthy, drool-worthy chicken salad.  This blood sugar balancing meal is high in healthy fats and protein.  I chose to soak my grains the night before I cook them.  When we don't do this, we are ingesting the grain's antinutrients, which prevent the grain from releasing enzyme inhibitors that break down the tough hull and bran.  Antinutrients, like phytic acid, combine with our body's necessary minerals and prevents the absorption of nutrients.  Bottom line: Soak and/or sprout your grains to increase digestibility and our body's ability to absorb their nutrient while preventing mineral deficiencies and bone loss. I have a grain and seed chart on soaking and sprouting here.

It is best to use a pasture-raised egg for the aioli (which, really, is just a fancy name for mayo), as you will receive vital nutrients including B and E vitamins.  The fat-soluable vitamins A and D, found in the egg yolks and chicken, will allow the body to absorb the amazing minerals quinoa provides us! If you choose to make this recipe egg-free, feel free to use the creamy base of a can of coconut milk as a substitute for the aioli. One of my mentors and former employers, Lisa Turner, is a culinary master, author, business owner, teacher.  When I presented this dish to her, she said it was the best chicken salad she ever tasted!  This is a tasty alternative to bland, cream-laden chicken salads that can leave you feeling bloated.  
Tools you will need: oven, saucepan

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed (and preferably soaked overnight)

1 ½ lbs organic chicken breast

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 Tbs ghee or olive oil

¾ cup olive oil

1 egg yolk

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Pinch of smoked paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

3 Tbs parsley, finely chopped

1 Tbs tarragon, finely chopped

¼ cup red onion, diced

4 stalks celery, diced

¼ cup golden raisins, chopped

¼ tsp poppy seeds

1 heads of endives

2 avocados, thinly sliced, for garnish

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Rub salt, pepper, and ghee over chicken breasts.  Place in glass baking dish and roast for 45 minutes, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.  Set aside to cool.  Shred into bite sized pieces.
2. In a medium saucepan, add quinoa, a pinch of salt and 3/4 cup water.  Cover and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer for 10-15 minutes.  Once cooked through, drain quinoa and set aside to cool. 
3. While waiting for chicken to cool, prepare mayo.  In a small bowl, whisk egg yolk and 1 Tbs lemon juice.  Once mixture turns bright yellow and begins to thicken, drizzle in olive oil 2 Tbs at a time.  The mixture will emulsify and have a creamy mayo texture as you slowly incorporate the oil.  Once your arm feels like it is about to fall off and you have added in all the olive oil, add mustard, cider vinegar, paprika, parsley and tarragon.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. In a large bowl, combine chicken, quinoa, onion, celery and raisins.  Fold in seasoned homemade aioli, adding a little at a time depending on desired creaminess of salad.  Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
5. Scoop salad into endive cups.  Top each with a sprinkle of poppy seeds and a slice or two of avocado.  Serve. 

Yield: 6 servings

References:
http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/be-kind-to-your-grains-and-your-grains-will-be-kind-to-you/
http://www.foodrenegade.com/paleo-chicken-salad-boats/
Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats by Sally Fallon with Mary G. Enig, PhD. © 1999. All Rights Reserved.