Chicken Caesar salad
You can add a softly boiled egg, a few crispy bacon rashers or some sundried tomatoes to this dish for a posh lunch, or as the starter to a Valentine's Day feast
- Total:
- Serves: 2 persons
Ingredients
- 2slices sourdough or bloomer
- 1tbsp olive oil
- finely grated to make 1 tbsp parmesan, plus shavings to serve
- 8brown anchovies
- 2Little Gem lettuces, leaves separated
- 100-150g roast chicken, torn into bite-sized pieces
- 1egg yolk
- ½a small clove garlic
- 2tsp Dijon mustard
- 1tbsp lemon juice
- 100ml light olive oil
- finely grated to make 2 tbsp parmesan
Instructions
Step 1
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Tear or cut the bread into bite-sized croutons and tip onto a baking tray, drizzle with the olive oil and season with cracked black pepper. Toss well and bake for 10 minutes until golden and crisp. Sprinkle over 1 tbsp of grated parmesan, and toss well. Bake for another 2-3 minutes until the cheese melts onto the croutons. Leave to cool for a few minutes before assembling.Step 2
Meanwhile, put the egg yolk, garlic, mustard and lemon juice in a jug. Finely chop 2 anchovies and add to the jug. Season lightly, then blend with a stick blender until smooth. Slowly add the oil with the motor still running, and blend until thickened. Check for seasoning, adding a dash more lemon, mustard or a splash of water to loosen if you need to. Stir in 2 tbsp of grated parmesan.Step 3
Put the lettuce and chicken into a large bowl with 4 heaped tbsp of the dressing, and toss everything until evenly and lightly coated, rather than being drenched in the dressing – add a little more to coat the leaves if you need to, though. Add the croutons and toss briefly again. Divide between two plates, top with anchovies, parmesan shavings and another crack of black pepper. Add an extra dollop of dressing to dip the croutons in, if you like. The left-over dressing will keep, chilled, for three days.