the classic recipe
Brazilian chicken salpicão (Christmas salad)
Brazilian salpicão is the Christmas salad — vivid with orange carrot, green celery, red bell pepper, white shredded chicken, and golden potato sticks on top, creamy with mayonnaise, lightly sweet from raisins and apple, salty from ham and olives. Served ice-cold in a generous platter, garnished at the last second. It's not elegant — it's festive, abundant, and deeply affectionate. A childhood Christmas table without it would feel incomplete.
yields 10 servings·459 kcal per serving·cuisine Brazilian
The traditional recipe
Instructions
Marinate the chicken: using a mortar, crush 4 garlic cloves with 1 tsp salt into a paste. Add 1 tsp annatto powder, 1 tsp ground cumin, black pepper to taste, 2 tbsp white wine vinegar, and 2 tbsp olive oil. Mix well and rub the marinade all over a bone-in, skin-on chicken breast (~1.2 kg), working it under the skin too. Add 4 thyme sprigs, and marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes while preheating the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Roast the chicken: transfer the chicken and all the marinade to a baking dish, drizzle with the remaining olive oil, and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Roast for 40–50 minutes until fully cooked and juicy. Remove from oven, let cool slightly, and reserve ¼ cup of the pan drippings.
Shred the chicken: remove and discard the skin and bones. Shred the meat into long strips using two forks or your hands. Refrigerate until completely cold before assembling.
Rehydrate the raisins: place the 80 g of raisins in the reserved warm pan drippings and let soak for 10 minutes. Set aside with their liquid.
Prepare the vegetables and apple: cut carrots (200 g) into thin sticks or coarsely grate. Thinly slice celery stalks (120 g). Dice the apple (200 g) into small cubes and keep in water with lemon juice to prevent browning. Finely chop the red onion (60 g), slice the red bell pepper (75 g) into thin strips, and slice the pitted green olives (100 g).
Make the dressing: in a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise (200 g), heavy cream (200 g), and plain whole-milk yogurt (100 g) until smooth. Season with salt to taste.
Combine everything: add the cold shredded chicken, carrot, celery, red onion, bell pepper, olives, drained corn (200 g), grated ham (150 g), rehydrated raisins with their soaking liquid, and drained apple cubes to the dressing bowl. Fold gently until every ingredient is evenly coated. Taste and adjust salt.
Chill: cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes — ideally 1–2 hours or overnight — to let the flavors meld.
Serve: transfer to a large serving platter, scatter toasted walnuts (60 g, optional), and pile the crispy potato sticks (200 g) generously on top only at the moment of serving to preserve their crunch. Garnish with chopped parsley or chives if desired.