Open-faced chicken salad melt, as seen on Food Network Kitchen Live.
Recipe courtesy of Elena Besser

Open-Faced Chicken Salad Melt

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  • Level: Easy
  • Total: 40 min
  • Active: 20 min
  • Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Add the vinegar, sugar, 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and 1 cup water to a small saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until the liquid simmers and the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.
  2. Put the thinly sliced red onion in a medium bowl, add the pickling liquid and set aside. 
  3. Shred the white and dark meat of the rotisserie chicken using two forks. 
  4. Put the shredded chicken in a food processor and pulse until ground. 
  5. Combine the mayonnaise, garlic powder and onion powder in a large bowl. Squeeze the juice from the 1/2 lemon into the mixture and season with salt and pepper. 
  6. Stir in the ground chicken and diced celery. Trust your taste buds and add more spices, salt, pepper or lemon juice, if needed. 
  7. Preheat the broiler.  
  8. Halve the ciabatta rolls with a serrated knife and put them on a baking sheet. Brush both sides of the bread with the olive oil and cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. 
  9. Remove the ciabatta rolls from the broiler. 
  10. Evenly divide the chicken salad between the rolls. Top with the grated Cheddar cheese and bake until the cheese melts, 1 to 2 minutes. 
  11. Top the sandwiches with the pickled onions and serve. 
  12. Enjoy.