Eggless Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken and Garlicky Croutons
We haven’t had lettuce for salad in about a month. We’ve made other kinds of salads, with red cabbage and white cabbage, endive and radicchio, and cut vegetables, but we miss lettuce. We finally got some romaine the other day, and the salad I wanted was Caesar salad with grilled chicken and garlicky croutons.
While we certainly have been lucky and have no reason to complain, it has been a transition during this coronavirus crisis to not be able to shop for whatever I want, whenever I want, limiting what I can cook. Of course this has not stopped me from being inventive in the kitchen and cooking tasty meals, but it has been especially difficult when it comes to fruit and vegetables. In early spring, limited produce can be harvested from my garden (in late April I’ve been picking asparagus, scallions, leeks, chives, cilantro, parsley, and hopefully radishes next week), and therefore we have had to rely on the supermarket. We have been fortunate enough to schedule supermarket deliveries about every other week, so we haven’t had to make our way out into the real world. Over the course of two weeks between deliveries, produce thins out considerably, and when we finally get our delivery, we don’t get everything we ordered. That was the case with lettuce.
Salads are an important part of my life. I eat them four or five times a week, usually for lunch. I make all kinds, varying the ingredients and dressings so I don’t get bored. Usually they are lettuce based, and its absence has been a hardship of minor proportions.
This week we got lettuce. I found scraps of bread in the freezer, perfect for making croutons. I thawed and grilled frozen chicken breast. And I always have a block of Parmesan cheese in the refrigerator, ready for grating. The Caesar salad was crisp and garlicky, and delicious. My family agreed it was great to have a salad.
This coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a lot of self-reflection. I am not alone thinking about relationships, mortality, inequity in our society and the world, our future, and basic needs, like shopping and food (and toilet paper). I appreciate what I’ve got in my life including the food I can still prepare, like this Caesar salad with grilled chicken and garlicky croutons.
Eggless Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken and Garlicky Croutons
There are two ingredients that scare many people about Caesar salad, raw egg yolk and anchovy. This recipe, (modified from The White Dog Cafe Cookbook by Judy Wicks and Kevin Von Klause) dispenses with the raw egg, but keeps the anchovies. The raw egg yolk in most Caesar dressings gives it richness and helps emulsify the vinegar and oil. This dressing accomplishes the same thing with the rapid rotation of the blades in a food processor just prior to serving. (It will separate if allowed to sit.) The anchovies give it essential umami or savoriness, without making it fishy tasting in the least. Their absence would definitely be noted, and because I am not their number one fan, I have cut them back by half from the original recipe.
Grilled chicken is optional, but it turns this salad from a side dish into a meal. Don’t skip the Parmesan shavings or croutons. It won’t be a Caesar salad without them.
Serves 6, 45 minutes
1 recipe homemade croutons
3 romaine hearts, cut or torn into bite-size pieces
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced thin
1¼ cup olive oil, divided
½ tsp. kosher salt
4 oz. Parmesan cheese, 3 Tbsp. finely grated, the remainder shaved or coarsely grated
½ can oil-packed anchovies, drained
1 Tbsp. garlic, minced or pressed
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1½ Tbsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. fresh ground pepper
½ cup water
- Make the croutons while you are preparing the rest of the salad. Stir them frequently, so they don’t burn!
- Heat a grill for direct heat cooking, high on a gas grill.
- Cut or tear the lettuce, wash and dry, and set aside in a large bowl in the refrigerator.
- Mix ¼ cup olive oil and salt in a small bowl. When the grill is hot, lightly brush one side of each piece of chicken with olive oil mixture and place on grill grates. Cook for about 2 – 3 minutes until chicken is turning white around the edges. Brush top of chicken with olive oil and flip, cooking the other side until the chicken is done, another 2 – 3 minutes or so. Remove chicken to a plate and allow to cool so the juices redistribute. When cool, slice into bite size pieces and set aside.
- Finely grate 3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and set aside. Shave the remainder of the Parmesan with a potato peeler or grate on the large holes of a box grater, and set aside.
- Make the dressing. Fit a food processor with the metal blade. Put anchovies, garlic, and finely grated Parmesan into the bowl and process to combine for about 15 seconds. Add red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and pepper and process to combine, another 15 seconds. With the blade running, slowly add in remaining 1 cup olive oil and water and process until emulsified. Leave dressing in food processor until ready to toss on the salad.
- Assemble the salad. Add lettuce, chicken, croutons, and shaved Parmesan to a large bowl. Toss to combine. Give the dressing a final whirl in the food processor and add enough dressing to coat the salad. Toss to fully coat, adding more dressing as needed.
- There will likely be too much dressing. Reserve extra in a container in the refrigerator for up to a few days. Allow to come to room temperature and give a quick spin in the food processor to re-emulsify before serving.
