A whole meal.

This looks great! I would probably string this out over two days. I’d cook the chicken and the pasta, and make the dressing the day before. For the pasta, instead of water I’d use the seasoned chicken broth. Pull the chicken off the bone, make the Salad Dressing with garlic, and put it all in the fridge. Finish at my leisure the next day.

It fascinates me that cold pasta salads have become a fashionable dish sold commercially and made at home. When I was very young, my sister, an excellent cook, was famous for her cold salad “New Orleans style.” I have always believed that she created the dish and she has never denied it. To make it, you cook thin strands of spaghetti, such as vermicelli or spaghettini, to the desired degree of doneness and marinate it with a well-seasoned vinaigrette sauce with garlic. Chill overnight, and add assorted vegetables, such as mushrooms, artichoke hearts, avocado and cherry tomatoes. The following is my adaptation of her recipe, using mushrooms à la grecque.

Craig Claiborne, Southern Cooking (1987)

COLD PASTA NEW ORLEANS STYLE WITH CHICKEN COOKED IN BROTH AND MUSHROOMS À LA GRECQUE

6 to 8 servings

½ lb pasta, preferably vermicelli or spaghettini, dropped into boiling salted water and cooked to desired degree of doneness (“do not overcook or the pasta will become mushy”), drained well
1 C Salad Dressing with Garlic
1 Chicken Cooked in Broth (below), about 3 lb, meat removed from bones, bones and skin discarded, meat cut into bite-size pieces
1 C mayonnaise
Mushrooms à la Grecque (below), for garnish
12 small whole beets, cooked, for garnish
9 oz package frozen artichoke hearts, cooked according to package directions
1 avocado, peeled, seeded, cut into 16 wedges
12 cherry tomatoes or an equal number of tomato wedges
Chopped scallion, for garnish (optional)
Chopped parsley, for garnish (optional)

Place drained spaghetti in a mixing bowl while still warm, pour over it one-third of the Salad Dressing, toss well, and let cool. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Add chicken meat to pasta. Add mayonnaise and toss gently to blend. Serve pasta in a mound on a round platter. Garnish as follows: Arrange Mushrooms around the chicken or serve separately. Put the beets, artichoke hearts, and wedges in separate bowls, adding equal portions of remaining Salad Dressing to each bowl and stirring each to coat. Arrange these, and tomatoes, around pasta. Sprinkle with chopped scallions and parsley (if using).

CHICKEN COOKED IN BROTH

One chicken (about 3 cups diced meat)

3 lb (“cleaned weight”) chicken
7 C water
Salt “if desired”
12 peppercorns, crushed
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme, or ½ tsp dried
3 sprigs fresh parsley
½ C celery, chopped
1 onion, peeled, stuck with 2 whole cloves
1 carrot, trimmed, scraped

Put chicken in kettle, add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, and simmer to desired degree of doneness. Let cool.

SALAD DRESSING WITH GARLIC

1 ¼ cups

¼ C wine vinegar
2 tsp “Dijon or other imported mustard”
2 tsp garlic, chopped fine
1 tsp paprika
Salt “to taste, if desired”
Black pepper to taste, preferably freshly ground
1 C olive oil

Put vinegar, mustard, garlic, paprika, salt (if using), and pepper in a glass jar, and gradually add oil, shaking vigorously. Shake vigorously prior to each use.

MUSHROOMJS À LA GRECQUE

About 2 cups

½ lb small mushrooms, “preferably button mushrooms,” left whole if small, quartered otherwise
1 ½ Tbsp lemon juice
4 ½ Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp coriander seeds
1 small clove garlic, crushed peeled
Salt “to taste, if desired”
Black pepper to taste, preferably freshly ground
2 Tbsp chicken broth (can use broth from Chicken Cooked in Broth, above)

Place mushrooms in a saucepan with lemon juice and stir to combine. Add remaining ingredients, cover, and cook 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook over high heat about 5 minutes, shaking pan occasionally, the remove from heat and let cool. Remove garlic clove before serving.