Baby Brioches With Chicken Salad & Bacon

Total Time: 25 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• 3 slices apple-smoked bacon
• 16 small brioche rolls (about 2 inches)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 celery rib, minced
• 1/2 small shallot, minced
• 2 teaspoons minced flat leaf parsley
• 32 leaves flat leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice (the real stuff, not the bottled kind)
• 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch dice (from a rotisserie chicken, skin & bones removed)
• kosher salt, to taste
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• hot pepper sauce (we use pickapeppa sauce) (optional)
• 2 small plum tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices (16 slices)

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 325ºf.
• 2 in a large skillet cook the bacon over moderate heat until browned and crisp all over, about 5 minutes.
• 3 transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain; cut each slice into 4 pieces.
• 4 using a pairing knife, cut a 1" round plug out of the top of each brioche roll.
• 5 carefully hollow out the rolls; set the rolls on a baking sheet and warm them in the oven to refresh them, about 5 minutes.
• 6 in a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, celery, shallot, minced parsley and lemon juice.
• 7 stir in the diced chicken and season the salad with salt and pepper and if you want - here is where you should add your hot sauce - about 5 minute.
• 8 spoon 1 tablespoon of the chicken salad into each brioche roll, garnish with parsley leaves and cover with a tomato slice; then garnish with bacon.
• 9 **the chicken salad can be prepared up to 2 days in advance; cover and refrigerate.