Caesar Salad

A traditional Caesar doesn’t usually have bacon but everything is better with it and some crispy Sausage Man Streaky Bacon bits add an extra salty texture that works! 

Serves: 4-6 

Ingredients 

• 600 grams chicken breast (or 3 breasts) 
• 1 large romane lettuce
• 1 small cos lettuce 
• Handful of dill and parsley, finely chopped 
• 2 cups of roughly chopped / ripped up bread (we used Albatross Sourdough Haus Brot for a good flavour) 
• Parmesan (ideally proper parmigiano reggiano)  
• 6 rashers (approx 1 pack) of Sausage Man Streaky Bacon sliced into lardons about 1.5cm wide
• Olive oil 

Chicken Seasoning 

• 2 tsp smoked paprika 
• 2 tsp garlic powder 
• 2 tsp dried thyme 
• 2 tsp salt 
• A big grind of black pepper 
• 2 tbsp olive oil 

Salad Dressing 

• 4 anchovies 
• 2 garlic cloves 
• 1 cup mayonnaise  
• 1 cup of grated parmigiano reggiano
• 8 dashes worcestershire
• 1/2 cup olive oil 
• a pinch of cayenne pepper (adjust to taste) 
• Juice of a lemon 
• 4 tsp white vinegar 
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste 

Method: 

1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan-bake for the croutons. 
2. Mix the chicken seasoning together in a bowl and coat the chicken breasts. Set aside. You ideally want the chicken to be room temperature before cooking. 
3. Now the dressing, the most crucial part of the salad. Start by mashing together the anchovy fillets and garlic with a tiny pinch of salt. Once these are in a paste add to a bowl along with the rest of the ingredients (except for the salt and pepper). Mix. Now you will need to use your discernment. Taste as you and adjust according to your palette. The dressing should be salty, garlicy, sharp, creamy. Ours doesn’t include dijon mustard because of allergies but add it if you like. The dressing can be made ahead and does benefit from some time sitting, allowing the flavours to meld and the garlic to mellow.  
4. Add your ripped up bread to a bowl and coat with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Place on a baking tray and bake for about 5-10 minutes or until the bread becomes croutons i.e. golden and crunchy. Set aside. 
5. Now for your chicken. This technique should leave you with moist chicken breast. I cooked the chicken one fillet at a time to ensure the pan wasn’t crowded and allowed each breast to crisp up and cook evenly. Add a glug (about a tbsp) of olive to your pan on medium heat. Add your chicken breast and do not move for 5 minutes. It will smoke and splutter which is a good sign. After 5 minutes flip it, add about a cup of water and cover. Leave on the heat for a further 2 minutes (or 4 minutes if you’re using a thinner steel pan). Then take off the heat and leave to rest (covered in the pan) for a further 15 minutes. This should leave you with charred but moist chicken. I recommend using timers and not touching the chicken between each step. 
6. Cook your Streaky Bacon in a pan until golden and crisp. Set aside. 
7. Once your croutons have cooled, take half and blend or crush into a finer consistency. More like breadcrumbs. You’ll now have one half crunchy and a half fine. Keep separate. 
8. Prepare your salad components. Wash the lettuce and slice into quarters and across into chunks. Finely chop the herbs. Grate a decent pile of parmesan to top the salad. Slice the chicken breast. 
9. Add the lettuce, herbs, dressing, finer breadcrumbs, chicken, bacon to a large bowl and toss, evenly coating the leaves with the dressing. You want this to be generously dressed. A Caesar is all about the dressing. 
10. Transfer to a large serving platter and finish with the chunky croutons, a healthy dusting of parmesan.