Creamy Chicken Caesar Salad

When I think back on my time in professional kitchens there are certain dishes on the menu that always make the chef smile when they see it pop up in their orders. Chicken Caesar is one of them. Why? Because it can be on a plate and out the door in less than 60 seconds of hands-on time!

Of course in the kitchen there’s already been a bunch of prep work done and the grill’s already hot. You’re going to have to do this yourself so this will take you 15-20 minutes at home. Perfect for a work/school night or any time that you need a nutritious meal in a hurry.

Here’s something that just about every restaurant does. With most of your lettuces you can wash them, cut them to size and then store them, in a bucket of cold water with sugar added, in the fridge for about two weeks. Cover the bucket with a tea towel.

I use 2-3 tablespoons of sugar per gallon of water. One head of romaine will usually make 4-6 individual salads, so I like to keep it in the fridge and ready. When it’s time to make a Caesar, I just grab a couple of handfuls out of the bucket and dry it in the salad spinner. Throw that in a bowl and add the fixings, a quick toss and you have a fresh, crisp and tasty salad in less than five minutes.

In the past, in some very nice restaurants, I’ve been known to bake my own seasoned croutons and also make my dressing from scratch. When I’m in a hurry at home, I just use store bought ingredients.

Our local grocer had a sale on chicken breasts, two for $10, so this was plated onto our table tonight, just in time for the hockey game, at about $7.50 each, plus enough leftover romaine to make at least four more individual salads.

Method:

Prep your romaine. As mentioned, this can be done hours or days in advance. Slice the lettuce from the bottom to the top along three cuts of the head. Snooty chefs will tell you that romaine should never be cut, only torn by hand. I cut it with a very sharp knife, gently. You don’t want to bruise the lettuce. Cut the head into about 1-inch slices and trim the whites at the bottom nicely. The best way to cut the whites, as you get down there, is to turn the head on its end and slice pieces off the core. Put it all into a salad spinner to wash and then dry. This might take a couple of spinner loads depending on the size of your spinner. Dice up your garlic.

Heat up a medium-sized frying pan on about 6-7 for a heat setting with cooking oil; season the chicken and place it upside down in the pan to sear. After a couple of minutes flip the chicken, season it again as most of your seasoning will now be in the oil. Add about 1/4 cup of white wine and 1/4 cup of water, cover and steam while you assemble your salad.

If your romaine is in water in the fridge, use your spinner to dry it. Put it in a bowl and add a good squeeze of lemon juice. Use wooden spoons to toss that all in so that the salad is wet with lemon juice. It makes the garlic, bacon bits and parmesan stick to the lettuce.

Add your garlic, bacon bits and parmesan to taste and toss it all up. To taste means add it, toss it and taste it. Do you have enough of each? If not, add some more.

Squeeze in some dijon mustard and Caesar dressing and toss again. This is also where you add the anchovy paste if you’re using any. I have a tendency to add less than I need and then add some more. You can always add more but you can never remove too much.

Depending on how dry or creamy you like your Caesar will determine how much you add. Your ratios will look like about 1 part dijon and 1 part anchovy paste to 8-10 parts dressing.

Lay down a nice bed of Caesar. Cut your chicken breasts all fancy like a restaurant would (45 degree cuts about 3/4 of an inch thick) and serve it.

Chicken Caesar pairs very nicely with a sharp white wine or beer. Enjoy!