Caesar Salad
Caesar salad is very simple – it consists of romaine lettuce, croutons and parmesan cheese, and sometimes chicken is added. The whole secret of this delicious salad lies in the delicious dressing.
You can modify the salad as you wish. You don’t have to prepare a traditional salad, as long as you like it :).
When preparing Caesar salad, be careful with salt because anchovies, capers and parmesan are very salty!
Are you wondering what salad you can make with chicken breast?
If you are looking for a recipe for a simple chicken breast salad, Caesar salad is the perfect idea. If you don’t have all the ingredients for Caesar dressing, traditional vinaigrette will also work for a simple chicken salad 😉
What sauce for chicken salad?
Below you will find a recipe for preparing Caesar salad dressing without eggs. The Caesar sauce in my recipe is very garlicy and lemony.
Traditionally, raw egg yolk is added to this sauce, but I don’t add it.
If you want a creamier sauce and don’t want to use raw egg yolk, you can add a spoonful of mayonnaise. If you want, you can also add 1-2 tablespoons of yogurt to the sauce. However, I like the consistency of vinaigrette sauce, which is thickened with parmesan cheese.
What to add to Caesar salad? Recipe modifications:
- You can replace the chicken with shrimp, hard boiled egg or chickpeas. You can also omit the protein addition and prepare a traditional salad with just croutons.
- For croutons, you can use baguette, ciabatta, Italian-style bread, or any bread you like. Instead of homemade croutons, you can eat a salad, e.g. with a garlic baguette or bread sticks, which you can serve separately and not in the salad. Thanks to this, they will not get soaked and will remain crispy.
- You can add cherry tomatoes
- You can replace Parmesan with peccorino cheese or Emilgrana cheese (Polish ‘Parmesan’)
- You can replace romaine lettuce with any lettuce
- You can add nuts or seeds
- You can add fried crispy bacon
- If you don’t want to add anchovies, you don’t have to.
- If you don’t want to add capers, you don’t have to. You can replace them with, for example, green olives or omit this addition.
- You can prepare the sauce only with mustard, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic and Parmesan. To balance the salty and sour taste, you can add a bit of honey to the sauce, just like in a vinaigrette.
- If you do not add capers or anchovies to the sauce, remember to add an additional portion of salt to the sauce.
- If you don’t like sour salad dressings, add the juice of only ½ lemon and add a little honey or syrup, e.g. maple syrup, to sweeten the dressing.
- If you like lemony notes in the sauce, also add the peel of a washed and scalded lemon.
The proportions given below make approximately 8 portions of salad with croutons and chicken.
Read the step-by-step recipe on how to prepare homemade Caesar Salad and watch the video below the recipe.
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Caesar Salad with Chicken
The simplest and most popular salad that you can find in every restaurant, and each one tastes and looks different. It owes all its flavor to its unique dressing! You can prepare it very easily and quickly at home.
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Caesar Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 romaine lettuce (or 1 large or 4 small)
- 1 chicken brest
- 1 half baguette (for croutons)
- saly
- pepper
- 1 tsp Italian herbs (or oregano)
- olive oil (for frying)
Sauce
- 80 g parmesan
- 5-10 fillets anchovy
- 2 tsp capers
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp mustard
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup olive oil
- salt
Instructions
Chicken
- Clean the chicken breast from membranes and tendons. You can cut the chicken breast in half lengthwise (like for a chicken kiev or roulade) to make the chicken fry faster. Season the chicken with just salt on both sides and fry in heated olive oil until golden. Do not move the chicken while frying. Only turn it over once. Fry the chicken over medium heat for a few minutes on each side.Place the fried chicken on a plate lined with a paper towel or on a board to rest. Do not cut the chicken immediately to ensure it remains juicy. When the chicken has cooled down, cut it into strips before adding it to the salad.1 chicken brest, saly, olive oil
Croutons
- Cut the half-baguette (ciabatta/Italian bread/lumberjack bread, etc.) into 2x2cm cubes. If you prefer larger croutons to serve separately, cut the bread into slices. Put the sliced bread into a bowl. Add salt, pepper, Italian herbs (or oregano/basil/savoury/rosemary), a few tablespoons of olive oil and mix. Throw the seasoned croutons into a heated frying pan (the same one in which you fried the chicken). Fry the croutons over high heat until crispy and golden. Leave the finished croutons in the pan and set aside to cool.1 half baguette, saly, pepper, 1 tsp Italian herbs, olive oil
Sauce
- Prepare creamed garlic. Chop the garlic and then rub it with a knife with a pinch of salt (preferably coarse). Then, on the same board, chop the capers and anchovies. Finally, mix all three ingredients together and keep rubbing and crushing it into a paste with a knife.5-10 fillets anchovy, 2 tsp capers, 3 cloves garlic, salt
- Put the anchovy, capers and garlic paste into a large bowl. Add mustard, juice of 1 or ½ lemon, wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and mix. Add grated parmesan to the sauce and mix again.1 tbsp mustard, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 lemon, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, ½ cup olive oil, 80 g parmesan
Salad
- Pour the thick sauce on the sides of the bowl to make it easier to mix the lettuce with the sauce. Add chopped or torn lettuce, sliced chicken, croutons and mix all ingredients together. Add pepper to taste. Enjoy your meal!2 romaine lettuce, pepper
Video
Watch how to make homemade Caesar Salad step by step video.
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Notes
What are anchovies? Where to buy anchovies?
Anchovies are tiny fish fillets with a distinct taste and smell, so we do not add a lot of them (you can change the amount of anchovies in the sauce as you like). They give an umami flavor, don’t worry, there is no fishy aftertaste in the salad. They are usually sold in jars or cans, e.g. in discount stores during the Italian week.
How to marinate chicken for Caesar salad? How to fry chicken for Caesar salad?
We do not marinate the chicken for Caesar. The chicken cannot be strongly seasoned because the salad dressing is very intense. Just salt the chicken breast on both sides and fry the entire breast on both sides with olive oil. Place the breast in the heated olive oil and fry over medium heat for a few minutes until golden brown. Do not cover the pan. When the chicken is golden brown, turn it over (only once!). Don’t touch the chicken while frying. This will keep the chicken juicy. You can place the fried chicken on a paper towel to remove excess fat. Once the chicken has cooled down, you can cut it and add it to the salad.
What can I replace Worcestershire sauce with?
Replacing Worcestershire sauce is very difficult. It contains vinegar, tamarind paste, anchovies, shallots, garlic, molasses, sugar and spices. Additionally, it ferments in barrels for a long time. You can try replacing it with ready-made tamarind sauce or prepare the sauce without it. You can easily buy Worcestershire sauce online or in hypermarkets.
Can the Caesar salad be made the day before?
Caesar salad is best prepared immediately before serving. We do not prepare the salad a day or a few hours in advance. Otherwise, the lettuce and croutons will get soaked. The salad will not be crispy and tasty.
Caesar salad without meat
If you want to prepare a vegetarian Caesar salad, do not add chicken to it or replace it with hard boiled egg or chickpeas (straight from the jar or baked). To prepare a vegan salad dressing, do not add anchovies and replace the parmesan with a spoonful of yeast flakes.
What mustard for Caesar sauce?
Traditionally, Dijon mustard is added to Caesar salad. However, you can use any mustard. I like honey mustard the most.
Nutrition
Serving: 100gCalories: 151kcal (8%)Carbohydrates: 7g (2%)Protein: 7g (14%)Fat: 11g (17%)Saturated Fat: 2g (13%)Trans Fat: 0gCholesterol: 14mg (5%)Sodium: 232mg (10%)Potassium: 285mg (8%)Fiber: 2g (8%)Sugar: 2g (2%)Vitamin A: 6,864IU (137%)Vitamin C: 4mg (5%)Vitamin D: 0µgVitamin E: 2mg (10%)Vitamin K: 87µg (82%)Calcium: 102mg (10%)Iron: 2mg (8%)Manganese: 0mg (10%)Magnesium: 21mg (5%)Zinc: 1mg (3%)Folic Acid: 6µg
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet
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