Chicken and Bacon Caesar Salad
Used in this recipe
Recipe: Paul Hunt for Bay’s Kitchen
This Caesar salad is hearty enough for a main course: oven-baked chicken breast, crisp bacon lardons, Parmesan and croutons on romaine lettuce. Flatten the chicken breasts first so they cook evenly and stay juicy.
A classic Caesar dressing contains garlic. Fody Caesar Dressing is made without garlic or onion and flavoured with mustard, lemon and nutritional yeast.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C (180 °C fan). Place the chicken breasts between two sheets of baking paper and flatten them with a meat mallet or the base of a heavy pan until about 2 cm thick at the thickest point.
- Lay the chicken on a baking tray lined with baking paper and season all over. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until no longer pink in the middle.
- Meanwhile, wash the lettuce leaves, spin them dry and cut into wide strips. Divide between two bowls, add half the dressing and toss to coat.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the bacon for about 5 minutes, turning often, until crisp, then drain on kitchen paper.
- Let the chicken rest briefly, then cut it into 1 cm strips. Arrange on the salad with the bacon, drizzle with the remaining dressing and scatter over the croutons and Parmesan.
Tips
- Shop-bought croutons and chicken seasonings often contain garlic or onion powder, so read the ingredients list. To make your own croutons, cube 1 slice of gluten-free bread, toss it with 1 tsp Fody Garlic-Infused Olive Oil and bake alongside the chicken for the last 8 minutes.
- For a packed lunch, cook the chicken and bacon the day before and let them cool in the fridge. Toss the lettuce, dressing and croutons together just before eating so everything stays crisp.
- To make it meat-free, use firm tofu: slice it, season it and fry until golden. Ready-made vegetarian chicken alternatives often contain onion, garlic or pulses.
