Best EVER Chicken Caesar Salad

Before you breeze right on by this recipe because you know what Caesar Salad is and it’s no big deal and you know how to make it, I implore you to stop and read on for this is the best Chicken Caesar Salad. I LOVE Caesar Salad and I order it a lot when we go out to eat in the hope that I will find one actually worth ordering. Sadly, I rarely do. Chicken Caesar Salad has so much going for it when it’s done properly; the salty, crisp bacon, the crunchy garlic-y croutons, crisp fresh lettuce, tender bites of chicken and of course the hero is the dressing with its’ unique combination of flavours.

And my version uses the one and only Paul Newman’s Creamy Caesar dressing – not the original, and definitely not the ‘light’ version. I have never tasted one better, not in a restaurant, not off the shelf and not from any other recipe. But the other elements need to be perfect too. Too many times a salad can be ruined by soggy croutons, bacon that isn’t cooked properly, or wilted lettuce. And if you want a poached egg on top, I’ve given you instructions for that too. I personally can live without the egg, but lots of people love these on top!

Ingredients

1-2 heads of baby Cos lettuce, washed and torn into bite size pieces
6 rashers of bacon, chopped, fried to crispy and crumbled
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Paul Newman’s Creamy Caesar Salad dressing
1 small baguette, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tsp garlic powder
10 chicken tenderloins
1/2 lemon
olive oil
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
poached egg per person (optional)

Method

First, squeeze half a lemon into a glass dish, add some sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper and two tbps olive oil, stir to combine. Slice some thin, diagonal slices 1/3 of the way through the chicken tenderloins and pop into the lemon and olive oil to marinate for 15 minutes. (If you marinate these for too long the lemon juice starts to ‘cook’ the outside of the chicken).

Meanwhile, put the melted butter and garlic powder into a large fry pan, Add the baguette cubes and toss around to coat in butter. Fry gently until lightly golden on all sides. Set aside. Try not to eat them all on their own. It will be difficult.

Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat and cook the chicken tenderloins for a few minutes on each side until done.

Put the lettuce into a large bowl, add bacon, croutons and parmesan and enough dressing to lightly coat it all. Plate it up and place chicken tenderloins on top of the salad, top with poached egg.

Method for Poached Egg

Fill a medium sauce pan with water and add two tsp of vinegar and 1 tsp of salt. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Crack an egg into a small bowl. Then using a whisk create a whirlpool in the saucepan and gently slide the egg into the centre of the whirlpool. Simmer gently for 2-3 minutes for a soft yolk. Remove with slotted spoon.

Carolyn started her blog Pinkpostitnote.com just over a year ago as a way to deal with her obsession of trying new recipes from the copious collection of cookbooks that she owns (and continues to buy). She is particularly fond of “man” food, both cooking it and eating it. She will happily elbow people out of the road at the sight, sound and smell of a pulled pork burger. When she’s not lying awake at 5am wondering if she should buy chooks and a cow to deal with the constant need for eggs and butter, she’s dealing with all the paperwork associated with owning a bunch of tip trucks and her favorite time of the day is wine five o-clock.