Looking for a gorgeous little meal that is as good looking as healthy? This chicken caesar salad will be a prefect companion!

To be honest there is no such thing as chicken Caesar salad. Caesar salad was first invented as a mean to feed the never ending customers of a restaurant in Tijuana on a beautiful 4th of July in 1924. Mr.Caesar Cardini had to make up new recipes on the fly to be able to serve his customers with the ingredients they still had in the restaurant. Lucky for us that popping out to the closest shop to get some emergency restock wasn’t the option that time. This way the Caesar salad was invented which traditionally only contains:

Romaine lettuce and croutons dressed with an emulsion of lemon juice, olive oil, egg, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, Dijon mustard, Parmesan cheese, and black pepper.

In its original form, this salad was prepared and served at the tableside.

Anchovies were later added to the recipe but Mr.Cardini wasn’t happy about it at all as he thought that the Worcestershire sauce had enough fishy taste. All the same, nowadays almost all the Caesar Salads recipes list Anchovies as one of the main ingredients. This one, however won’t.

As there was mentioned there is no such thing as Chicken Caesar Salad so this recipe will not be a Ceasar Salad rather than a Chicken Salad that will look a bit like Caesar Salad. This is mainly thanks to the grated parmesan or gran padano and the croutons. Probably this is the only common thing among the variety of existent Caesar Salad recipes out there. Conclusively then this is what makes this dish what it is. Grated hard cheese with fried bread pieces on some random bunch of salad is all it takes to whip up a delicious healthy lunch or dinner.

The original recipe calls for Romaine salad but if we only have Iceberg at home, don’t panic. Use what’s available -like Cardini did- and everything will be fine. Even better if we have a selection of leafy greens in the fridge to choose from. It’s always better to mix a couple of stuff together than to go on solo.

Amazingly simple, quick and delicious.

Ingredients

Servings: 3

Meat

1 pair Chicken breast (1 pound / 500g) (sliced into stripes)
1 teaspoon mustard (whole Dijon )
1 teaspoon Parsley
1 teaspoon Salt
½ Lemon juice
1 pinch Oregano
1 pinch Black pepper (optional)

Salad

2 Tomato (optional)
¼ Iceberg lettuce (100g)
1 handful Fresh spinach leaf (60g)
1 handful Corn Salad (Valerianella or Lamb’s lettuce) (25g)

Dressing

1 clove Garlic
2 Egg yolks
2 tablespoons Lemon juice
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup / 50ml Olive oil
2oz / 25g Parmesan (grated)
1 pinch Black pepper (ground)

Croutons

1 Slice (60g) Bread (cut into squares)
¼ cup / 60ml Olive oil

How to make Chicken caesar salad

Meat

Cut the chicken breast into long 1/2 inch / 1.25cm wide slices. Roughly as wide as a pinkie.
In a bowl mix together the chicken breast stripes, mustard, parsley, salt, lemon juice, oregano and black pepper.
Fry one side of the chicken breasts in a frying pan until golden brown at the bottom and starting to see the meat turning white at the edges on the top, then flip them to the other side.
If this is the first time ever frying chicken breast then try them on medium-high heat and go from there. Frying on too low temperature the meat will dry out before it reaches the golden brown color. If the heat too high then we run the risk of burning the outside while not having the inside cooked enough. Always check if the inside is cooked properly by making a small cut at the thickest part to peep inside. If there is no blood or pinkish parts then it should be good to go. We can also try to put a lid on the meat which will help to cook it properly and it will keep the meat moist as well. Unfortunately, this little lid trick -although saves our dish- takes the edge of the flavor away so use it sparingly and master the temperature selector.

Salad

While waiting for the chicken to tan we are free to prepare the salad. With a sharp knife cut thin slices of tomato.
Place three slices next to each other in the middle of each plate.
Chop up salads.
Some like it thick others fine and the original recipe calls for whole leaves. Pick a size and after cutting and mixing them together put a handful of it onto the top of the three slices of tomato that have been just placed on the plate. Try to maintain some height. Salad doesn’t look good flat on a plate. Build it up as high as possible. Some like the dressing mixed together with the salad others like to put their own dressing on.

Dressing

Chop garlic and add a pinch of salt. Use a fork to mash it into a paste.
Whisk in egg yolks, lemon juice, and mustard.
Adding drop by drop to start, gradually whisk in olive oil, whisk until dressing is thick and glossy.
Stir in Parmesan, as well. Season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice if desired.
Pour it over gently on top of the salad using a spoon.

Croutons

Cut the bread into fancy little 1/4″ / 0.5cm squares
Put olive oil into a preferably small frying pan and heat it up to medium.
Add the bread squares into the oil and stir them carefully until golden brown
Place them on a kitchen towel or some dried bread to cool.

Assembly

Around this time we should have the chicken ready to place it on the salad. Try to maintain the height of the salad as much as possible.
Sprinkle grated Parmesan on top of the salad and chicken.
Sprinkle croutons on top of the cheese.

Enjoy!

Star this recipe!