Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken

By Kath Dedon

Caesar Salad fortified with some kind of protein makes a great summertime dinner. Popular choices to top the salad are  grilled salmon, smoked salmon, fried oysters, shrimp or chicken. Last night I made it with grilled chicken.

One could argue that this is not really an authentic Caesar dressing because I don’t use eggs. Well, this version works for me, and I don’t have to worry about making anyone sick with uncooked or under-cooked eggs.

The dressing recipe is adapted from one in Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home. Their solution for the egg problem is to use 2 hard-boiled eggs which they blend with the other ingredients. I tried it once and didn’t really like the hard-boiled eggs in it. I replaced them with ¼ cup of mayonnaise, which gives the dressing some extra body.

I like Caesar salads that are garlicky and lemony, so you may want to adjust those ingredients a bit to suit your taste. The dressing recipe makes more than you’ll need for 2 people, but it keeps well in the refrigerator, especially because it doesn’t have eggs in it.

I grilled the chicken, but if you don’t have a barbecue, you could broil it, pan-fry it, or poach it.

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Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken

(Dressing adapted from a recipe in Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home)

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(print the recipe)

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Serves 2 (Makes more dressing than you’ll need, but it keeps well in the refrigerator.)

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Caesar Dressing:

¼ cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

3 garlic cloves, pressed

Ground pepper, to taste

A few dashes of Tabasco sauce

1/3 cup olive oil

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1. Combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, mustard, garlic, pepper, and Tabasco in a bowl. Whisk together so they are well-blended.

2. Slowly drizzle the olive oil in with the other ingredients while whisking constantly. Taste and adjust seasonings.

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Salad:

About ½ head Romaine lettuce, cleaned, dried and torn into pieces

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

About ¼ cup Caesar dressing, or to taste

½ – ¾ cup croutons (omit for gluten free version)

¾ pound chicken breast (1 large breast), pounded to about ½-inch thick

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Chicken breast, pounded and ready for the grill:

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1. Heat a grill on high for 10 minutes.

2. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken breast; grill the chicken for 3 minutes on each side, until done. Let rest while you toss the salad; then cut into slices.

3. Toss the lettuce, cheese, and Caesar dressing together until the lettuce is well-coated.

4. Divide the salad between 2 plates and top with croutons and chicken.

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Dinner on the deck on a beautiful Seattle summer evening: