This creamy, crunchy, herby and bright chicken salad sandwich will be your no-cook meal of the summer

Coming up with recipes can be fun. I enjoy trying to figure out what sorts of dishes readers from various backgrounds at different kitchen skill levels might want to cook and eat each week. But it certainly comes with some challenges - chief among them, trying to develop or share a recipe that isn't already among the more than 10,000 in our archives. At times, my brain goes blank.

Recently, I've been reaching out to others for inspiration. Whenever I talk to someone for a food article, at the end of our conversation I've been asking some version of the following: What's something that you've made for yourself recently that you've loved? What's your go-to quick weeknight dinner?

A couple of months ago, when I was chatting with Nini Nguyen about the essential knives that every cook should own, her answer to my go-to dinner question was chicken salad on croissants.

For Nguyen, a chef, cooking instructor and author of the cookbook "Dac Biet," the recipe starts with a store-bought rotisserie chicken, which means there's no cooking involved. (Chefs are just like us and use shortcuts, too!) Nguyen eats the dark meat as is but will reserve the breasts to make chicken salad. Instead of tearing or food processing the meat, "I dice my chicken like a human being," she said.

Like all great chicken salads, Nguyen's uses mayonnaise as one of the key ingredients. Her mayo of choice is Kewpie, which uses egg yolks instead of whole eggs and is thus richer. It also includes MSG, which gives it a more savory flavor. If she doesn't have Kewpie on hand, Duke's is her second choice. Regardless, sometimes she'll add a pinch of MSG "if I'm feeling like it" for even more umami.

The other ingredients include onions, celery, lemon, parsley and mustard. "The key is lemon: lemon zest and lemon juice," Nguyen said, which bring a lovely brightness to the chicken salad. And while tarragon might be a more classic herb pairing, as Nguyen said, "People like tarragon, but nobody buys tarragon." So she opts for more readily available parsley to add fresh, grassy flavor. And for those who like a little sweetness, Nguyen said she'll sometimes throw in a few grapes.

What I love about chicken salad is that it's extremely customizable. Besides the chicken and something creamy to bind it together - such as mayonnaise, vegan yogurt or sour cream - the rest is up to you.

For my version, I also went with already cooked chicken, but if you prefer to cook your own, I love poaching chicken breasts for salads. I didn't see Kewpie at my go-to grocery store, so I went with the jar of Duke's sitting in my fridge instead. I also opted for green onions to use up some that I had left from another recipe, and decided to leave the grapes out of the picture.

To make it a sandwich, Nguyen recommends a croissant, with green leaf or romaine lettuce and slices of tomato. ("Make sure you season them [with] salt [and] pepper. Don't give me a bland tomato.") The pastry adds buttery, flaky luxury to each bite. "Rich on rich, but I don't care," Nguyen said. Regular sandwich bread, a roll or a tortilla would make a suitable alternative.

I can't remember the last time I made chicken salad, but I have to say the addition of the lemon was a revelation. (One lemon was enough for me, but if you have a small or not very flavorful piece of citrus, you may want more.) My colleagues agreed. "Your recipe is reminding me how underrated chicken salad is and how I need to make it more," recipes editor Becky Krystal messaged me. "So tasty."

This chicken salad is creamy, crunchy, herby and bright - and it's a recipe that I plan to make anytime I want a quick, easy dinner.

JewishWorldReview.com publishes delicious -- mostly nutritious -- recipes. Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

Lemony Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwiches

SERVINGS: 4 (makes 4 sandwiches)
TOTAL TIME: 15 mins

STORAGE: Refrigerate the chicken salad for up to 3 day

These chicken salad sandwiches, made with croissants for a touch of buttery luxury, are wonderfully bright thanks to lemon zest and juice. Celery adds crunch, and a generous amount of parsley contributes freshness. Use store-bought rotisserie chicken or leftovers to make this a no-cook recipe. Alternatively, poach chicken breasts or cook them however you like.

INGREDIENTS
• 2 cups (10 ounces) diced cooked chicken breast (from about 2 breasts)
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon, plus more to taste
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
• Fine salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 croissants, halved horizontally
• Green leaf or romaine lettuce, for the sandwiches
• Tomato slices, for the sandwiches

STEPS

In a large bowl, stir together the chicken, celery, scallions, lemon zest and juice, mayonnaise, parsley, and mustard until combined. Taste, and season with salt, pepper and more lemon zest and juice, as desired. You should have about 2 1/2 cups.

To serve, place a lettuce leaf on the bottom half of each croissant, spoon on some chicken salad, add tomato slices, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, and top with the other half of the croissant. Serve right away.

Substitutions: Chicken breasts >> chicken thighs. Whole-grain mustard >> yellow or Dijon mustard. Croissants >> sandwich bread or rolls. Green leaf or romaine lettuce >> any other salad green.