How To Make Mayo Chicken Salad or Roast

This recipe was made out of my love for mayonnaise, which I can eat with almost anything. I can eat mayo with potato or yam chips, in burgers, on hot dogs, with chicken, with baked potatoes or even noodles.
I was eating chicken and chips with some mayo at a restaurant and the combination was so lovely it got me thinking about how it would make a good salad. However, halfway through the large bowl, I got tired. So, I popped it into the oven and then found a way to come up with this two-way recipe. It also made me understand the nursery rhyme, “Some like it hot, some like it cold.”

Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total cook time: 45 mins

Photographed by Niyi Okeow
For Chicken

1 kg chicken breast, diced into medium or large chunks
1 tsp soy sauce
1-2 seasoning cubes
1 tsp chilli pepper
1 medium white onion
2 medium green bell peppers
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp unsalted butter
For Salad

3-5 tbsp mayonnaise (or more depending on your taste)
1 cup lettuce, chopped
7-10 sprigs of spring onions
2 medium carrots, chopped or grated
N.B: I am not big on Vegetables, so usually I skip the carrot and lettuce and load it with spring onions. However, if you love your veggies, feel free to go overboard.

Photographed by Niyi Okeowo

Method
Add butter to a non-stick pan. Pour in the minced garlic and chopped onions.
Allow to sauté for one minute, then add the diced chunks of chicken breast, soy sauce, pepper and seasoning.
Stir until chicken is no longer pink and well-cooked inside.
Pour in the bell peppers, toss and turn off heat. Set aside to cool.
Wash and peel the potatoes. Chop each into a chunk of four to six, depending on size.
Set to boil with a pinch of salt for about 15-20 minutes.
When the potato is firm and cooked on the inside, drain, rinse in cold water and set aside.
In a large clean bowl, pour in chicken, a little chicken stock and potatoes.
Toss together, allowing the potato to soak up juice from the chicken.
Stir in mayonnaise gradually till it has fully spread around chicken and potato mix.
Toss in spring onions, carrots and lettuce.
For a salad, cover in cling film and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
To roast, set in a greased casserole bowl or baking dish, cover with an aluminium foil and bake in a preheated oven at 160c for 10-15 minutes.

Photographed by Niyi Okeowo