Food with JP passion: Chicken Caesar Salad
By JP Kennedy
John Paul Kennedy is a self-taught cook and an avid fan of collecting cookery books with a passion for good old-fashioned home cooking. His passion for proper family cooking stems from his TWO Grandmothers who were both excellent cooks, one of whom was a trained chef. JP promises to bring us plenty of family-inspired recipes and tasty treats while showing us how to get the basics right.
I am a huge lover of Chicken Caesar Salad and this recipe is so simple, quick and easy to make and looks amazing served in a large serving dish.
The recipe caters for two; so if you have more people coming for lunch or supper just increase the measurements by one for each additional person.
The key to this recipe is the homemade dressing and the chicken must be served warm. I have made this numerous times for family and friends and it always goes down a storm.
Summer time is the perfect time of year for lighter bites and while this is a lighter meal it is still very satisfying and filling so you won’t go hungry.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 2 chicken fillets
- 1 teaspoon of chopped rosemary
- 20 leaves of baby gem lettuce
- 10 ripe cherry tomatoes
- 2 handfuls of croutons
- 100g pancetta / bacon lardons
- Sea Salt and ground black pepper
Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
- Juice of ½ a lemon
- ¼ teaspoon of Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees / Gas Mark 6.
2. Place a frying pan over a medium heat and add the oil. Leave to heat for about a minute and then add the chicken and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and rosemary. Cook the chicken for two minutes on each side until lightly golden. Then cut the chicken into small bite size pieces and cook for a further 3 minutes.
3. Remove the chicken from the pan and place in the oven to keep warm while you finish off the salad.
4. Fry off the bacon lardons / pancetta until nice and crispy and pop onto a side plate.
5. Make the dressing by putting all the ingredients into a food processor and blitzing together.
6. Add the cherry tomatoes to the pan and cook for about two minutes.
7. Place the salad leaves in two large serving bowls (10 leaves each) add the cooked chicken and tomatoes, sprinkle over the croutons and bacon lardons then pour over the dressing and toss well together – Serve immediately and enjoy.
You can of course vary this salad by leaving out the tomatoes or croutons and you could add prawns or pumpkin seeds instead – there are many variations you can make depending on your own taste buds! I love it with the tomatoes as when served warm they burst in your mouth and have picked up the juices of the chicken and bacon cooked earlier in the pan – Delicious!
Contact JP On:
Twitter: @JPKCooking
Email: JPKCooking@gmail.com
Instagram: jpkennedy.kennedy
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