Grilled chicken salad with ‘any-pickle dressing’

When Epicurious introduced this “choose your own adventure any-pickle dressing” you can bet we got on board. Creamy, briny, punchy and so versatile, it’s a go-to any time of the year.

We used a combo of Dill Pickles and Pickled Jalapenos in this batch, setting aside some of the dressing to marinate chicken for the grill and more to drizzle over the salad. Play around with different combinations. Hot Dilled Beans would be great in this, or Bread & Butter Pickles for more of a sweet-tangy take.

Here’s the recipe adapted from Epicurious:

Ingredients

5 oz. pickled vegetables (such as dill pickles, cornichons, cocktail onions, peperoncini, capers, jalapeños, and/or hot cherry peppers, cut into 1" pieces if large; ⅔–1 cup)***

4½ tsp. pickle brine

¼ cup loosely packed dill fronds

½ cup buttermilk

4½ tsp. dehydrated onion flakes

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1/2-1 tsp. kosher salt (to taste, depending on saltiness of chosen pickles)

1½ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. freshly ground pepper

½ tsp. sugar

1 cup sour cream

Instructions:
Pulse pickled vegetables, drained, cut into 1" pieces if large; ⅔–1 cup), and dill fronds in a food processor until finely chopped. Add buttermilk, pickle brine, dehydrated onion flakes, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and sugar and pulse to combine.

Transfer mixture to an airtight container and stir in sour cream. Taste dressing and season with more salt if needed. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. (The resting period allows the onion flakes to rehydrate and all of the flavours to meld.)
Do Ahead: Dressing can be made 5 days ahead. Keep chilled. Makes about 2¼ cups.

For the grilled chicken salad, use some of the dressing to marinate the chicken ( about 1/2 - 3/4 cup for 3-4 breasts). Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes or refrigerate for several hours. When ready to cook, remove chicken from marinade, letting excess drip back into dish; discard marinade.

Grill until cooked through to 165 F; allow to rest for 10 minutes, then slice and serve atop salad of choice with more of the reserved dressing tossed with the vegetables and drizzled over the chicken.

Notes:

• For smaller, stronger pickled items such as capers, use only about ½–1 oz. (1–2 tbsp.) total and combine them with larger, more mild pickles so the flavour is not too strong.

• If you don’t have a kitchen scale, start with the lower end of the cup measurement and add more pickles to taste as you build the dressing.

• While this dressing can be made with just one type of pickle (like dills), it’s tastier with a mix of pickled vegetables.

• This dressing is also great in potato salad or drizzled atop a wedge of crispy iceberg lettuce.