Caesar salad with crispy chicken and avocado
Crispy chicken Caesar salad recipe – panko-crumbed chicken, crunchy croutons, avocado and a creamy Parmesan dressing.
Servings 4 servings
Ingredients
Panko-crumbed chicken
- 500 g chicken mini fillets
- 300 ml neutral-flavoured oil
- 100 g panko breadcrumbs
- 75 ml plain flour
- 1-2 eggs, beaten
- Salt and pepper
Dressing
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 clove garlic
- 40 g Parmesan
- 2 small anchovy fillets
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 100 ml rapeseed oil
- 25 ml water – adjust the consistency, you may need a little more or less
- Salt and pepper
Croutons
- 1 ciabatta loaf or similar
- A little oil
- Seasonings – e.g. dried parsley and garlic powder
To serve
- 1 romaine lettuce, little gem or similar – I also like to add some iceberg or other crisp lettuce
- 2 avocados, diced
- Parmesan shavings for the top (optional)
Instructions
Croutons
- Cut the bread into rough chunks and toss them with a little oil – about 2 tbsp.
- Spread them out on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and season with salt and any other seasoning you like.
- Bake the croutons in a preheated conventional oven (top and bottom heat) at 220°C for about 15 minutes, until crisp and golden.
Dressing
- Put the egg yolks in a mini chopper/blender with the garlic, anchovy fillets, Parmesan and lemon juice and blend until well combined.
- Add the oil a little at a time while blending – continue until all the oil has been used and you have a thick, creamy mayonnaise.
- Add the water, a little at a time, and keep blending until you reach the desired consistency – the dressing should be creamy and not too thin. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Caesar salad with crispy chicken and avocado
- Trim the chicken fillets of any sinew and pat them dry with kitchen paper.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat – on my hob that is 5-6 out of 9.
- Put the beaten egg, the flour and the panko breadcrumbs in 3 shallow bowls. Season the flour with a little salt and pepper.
- Turn the chicken pieces in the flour, then in the beaten egg and finally in the panko breadcrumbs.
- Shallow-fry the pieces until cooked through and golden on both sides – about 3 minutes per side, depending on thickness. If they brown too quickly, turn the heat down a little so they have time to cook through properly.
- As they are done, transfer the chicken pieces to kitchen paper to drain.
- Tear the lettuce into rough pieces and divide it between the plates.
- Cut each piece of chicken into 2-3 pieces and tuck them in among the lettuce leaves.
- Top with the croutons, diced avocado, Parmesan shavings and dressing.