Mexican Caesar Salad

 

Here’s an interesting twist on the usual Caesar – this one has an avocado and yogurt in the dressing, and a few extra veggies, making it a pretty healthy salad.  The recipe comes from Jamie Oliver’s Save with Jamie.

I didn’t actually make this one myself; I’ve injured my shoulder and can’t cook, so my wonderful friend John came over and cooked this for me.

What you need:

• 2 boneless chicken breasts
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 2 pinches dried oregano
• olive oil
• 1 head of romaine lettuce
• cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• cucumber, sliced into rounds (I like to use the mini cukes, but English works too)
• 1 ripe avocado
• 1.5 oz Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 clove garlic
• 2 anchovy fillets (I used a bit of anchovy paste)
• 5 tablespoons plain yogurt
• juice of 1 lemon + an extra lemon just in case you need it
• Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 rashers of bacon
• a small loaf of bread (we made it into garlic toast)

What you do:

1. Place the chicken on a large sheet of parchment paper and toss it with salt, pepper, cayenne, oregano, and a little olive oil.  Fold the parchment paper over and flatten the chicken to about 3/4 inches thick by basking it with a rolling-pin.  Get  a grill pan or a cast iron frying pan really hot before placing the chicken in the pan.  Grill for 3-4 minutes per side.  It should get nice and browned.  Remove the chicken from the pan
2. Fry the bacon until crispy, then let it sit on a paper towel to remove the excess fat..
3. To make the dressing, put the avocado flesh, half the grated Parmesan, garlic, anchovies, yogurt, lemon juice, a few drops of Worcestershire, and the olive oil into a blender (or use an immersion blender as I did). Blend until smooth, then add a little salt and pepper to taste, and possible more lemon juice.
4. Break pieces of washed and dried lettuce into a large bowl and add about half of the dressing, mixing until it is all coated. Toss in some tomatoes and cucumber rounds. You can either arrange the salad on a platter, or on individual serving plates: arrange the chicken on top, then crumble some bacon on top, along with some Parmesan.
5. Enjoy with a nice loaf of warm crusty bread or garlic bread.