Chicken Caesar Salad

Chicken Caesar Salad would have to be one of my all-time favourite salads. It has everything I need and want for a delicious hearty lunch or light healthy dinner when I’m not so hungry.

Although it’s a little more work, I make my own croutons and dressing from scratch because it makes all the difference to the taste. The extra work is so worth it, I promise you, so don’t be tempted to use store bought.

The fresh tender baby Cos lettuce makes the perfect bed for the moist succulent smokey chicken breast to lay on and be covered by the creamy dressing. Adding the super-crunchy homemade garlic croutons and shavings of salty parmesan cheese, takes this Chicken Caesar Salad from fantastic to absolutely amazing and one you MUST try for yourself.

What you need

• 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 300g chicken breast fillet
• ½ teaspoon Sea Salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
• 1 baby Cos lettuce – washed and cut into quarters
• 2 free range eggs – soft boiled or poached
• 2 cups croutons
• Freshly shaved parmesan cheese

For the croutons

• 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 whole garlic clove
• 2 cups cubed sourdough bread

Dressing

• 1 small garlic clove – crushed
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 anchovy fillets – chopped
• 1 free range egg
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ¾ cup light Extra Virgin Olive oil
• Freshly ground pepper

Serves 2 people

What to do

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Trim and wash the chicken breast fillet.

Sprinkle sea salt, pepper and paprika all over the chicken breast and rub in.

Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Add the chicken breast and cook for 4 minutes, turn and cook on the other side for a further 2 minutes.

Place the pan in the oven and cook for 12 – 14 minutes, or until the chicken has cooked through. The chicken has cooked if there is some resistance when you press on it. Remove from the oven and cover loosely with foil to rest.

Next make the croutons by heating 2 tablespoons of oil on low heat in a pan. Add the garlic clove whole and allow to infuse the oil for 2 minutes.

Turn the heat up to medium and add the croutons. Shake the pan to coat all the croutons with the infused oil. Toast the croutons until they are golden and crunchy – toss periodically to make sure they brown on all sides without burning them. Put aside.

To make the dressing, used a Stick Blender to process the garlic, mustard, chopped anchovy fillets and egg until smooth. With the motor running, add the oil by drizzling it in a slow steady stream. Stop when the mixture thickens. If it is too thick, add a little water and mix to loosen.

Add the lemon juice and a little pepper and mix well.

To assemble the Chicken Caesar Salad, arrange the quartered lettuce in a platter or large shallow bowl.

Slice the chicken and arrange over the lettuce. Add the eggs (cut then in half if they are boiled, but leave them whole if they are poached).

Scatter the croutons over the salad, then add shaved parmesan cheese.

Just before serving the Chicken Caesar Salad, drizzle some of the dressing all over the salad – serve remainder in a small bowl on the side.

Any unused dressing can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.