If you’ve never made homemade Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken before, this is the recipe to try. It’s one I’ve wanted to feature for awhile…one that even my three-month computer crash crisis can’t keep me from blogging about.
Deep Thoughts
If an Italian man creates a recipe in Mexico, does it make the dish Mexican or Italian? That deep, philosophic question is prompted by the ubiquitous Caesar salad. Caesar salad was created by Italian immigrant and restaurateur, Caesar Cardini, who whipped up this creation in his restaurant in 1924 Tijuana, Mexico. In the 70’s, it found its way to New York City, served in the fancier steakhouses of that time, and ever since has been in menus across America.
It Starts with the Dressing
Like all great salads, it begins with the dressing. In a food processor or blender, whip up olive oil, garlic, anchovy paste, lemon, an egg yolk, salt, pepper, and shredded Parmesan cheese. Two big tips here: use real Parmesan cheese (not the kind from the can), and the freshest lemons and eggs possible. There aren’t many ingredients in the dressing, and the fresher and higher quality you can use, the more amazing this dressing will taste.
While that is sitting in the fridge, prepare the croutons. Cut up a baguette, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and garlic salt, then bake for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees until toasty. Set aside.
Vegetarians, Skip This Part
Next, grill the chicken. This is where the devil is in the details. Typically, salads are easy to pull together, but the addition of grilled chicken can throw a curve ball into your timing. For a faster weeknight meal, I would go with prepared, frozen grilled chicken strips like you can find at Trader Joe’s or Costco, or use leftover barbecued chicken. Since this was a weekend meal, I prepared the chicken breast the morning of with some lemon rub spices, then let it sit in the refrigerator until I was ready to grill.
(A quick note on grilling: you can do so on an outdoor grill, or indoor contact grill/panini press (aka George Foreman-type grill). For my recipe, I used an indoor contact grill and the cooking time was only about 8 minutes.)
Then, let it cool considerably, perhaps an hour or so. This is an important step because if the chicken is too warm, it will shred when you cut it, and you won’t get those clean, diagonal strips. Also, warm chicken will wilt and ruin your crisp, cool romaine. So, yeah, be sure to cool the chicken.
Assemble, and then drizzle.
This Caesar dressing is the perfect combination of lemony, garlicky and cheesy with just a touch of briny-ness from the anchovy. The croutons are crunchy, lettuce crisp, and chicken is moist and savory.
Serving Suggestions
I serve Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken as a stand-alone dinner salad most of the time, but for a nice Sunday dinner will serve it alongside tacos.
This recipe serves five to six. Don’t expect there to be any leftovers.
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil plus 2 tablespoons for croutons
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus extra for topping
- 3 garlic cloves smashed and dressed with a little olive oil and salt
- 1 tbsp anchovy paste or 3 anchovy fillets plus more if you want to garnish the top of the salad
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice about 2 lemons
- 2 tbsp water
- squirt of Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 loaf baguette
- 2 tsp garlic salt
- 3 grilled chicken breasts
- 3 heads of romaine lettuce washed and rinsed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Make salad dressing. In a food processor or blender, mix together 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic cloves, anchovy past, egg yolk, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, water, and Worcestershire sauce. When blended, add in Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste and blend again. Set aside in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Cut up the baguette into large, bite-sized chunks. In a large casserole dish, mix together 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and the garlic salt. Add more oil and salt as needed. Bake for about 20 minutes. Adjust time (bake longer) if you want the croutons crunchier.
- Grill the chicken. Let it cool and then slice on the diagonal.
- Assemble all ingredients and serve.
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