A very quick and tasty salad with a Caesar dressing that is, I think, to die for!
This Caesar dressing is quick to make and it is a dressing I have been making for as long as I can remember. While I sometimes make the mayonnaise for this, a good shop-bought mayo (full-fat or lighter) works a treat. Honestly, commerical Caesar dressings do not come anywhere close.
I often just make up a batch of dressing to use as a dip: it is particularly fabulous with crispy potato wedges!
The salad itself is made in moments – but it won’t last long either! It works well with cooked chicken but I sometimes make it with large prawns that I have pan-fried.
I often make this salad the day or two after I make a roast chicken/turkey meal. I reserve a few bacon rashers that were cooked on the bird and I use a good commercial mayo for the base of the dressing.
However, I sometimes peel off some of the roasted chicken skin and heat in the oven on a tray for 10-15 minutes until it crisps up before sprinking on top of the salad: it’s a wonderful addition to any salad!
The dressing makes more than is needed but it keeps for up to a week in the fridge in a sealed jar.
Recipe: Caesar salad – serves 4
Caesar dressing
- 4 generous tablespoons light mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon natural yoghurt
- 3-4 anchovy fillets (the dark, salted type)
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 heaped tablespoon grated Parmesan
- a generous spritz or two of lemon or lime juice
- 1 teaspoons of cider vinegar or wine vinegar
- generous grinding of black pepper
Salad
- a few handfuls of salad leaves of choice
- a few rashers of crispy bacon, roughly broken up
- a couple of handfuls of cooked chicken or turkey
- a few grindings of grated black pepper
- a couple of tablespoons of Caesar dressing – above
(1) To make the dressing, put all the dressing ingredients into a blender and blitz to give a smooth paste. Taste and add more pepper or lemon/lime juice if you think it needs it. Put in a clean, airtight jar and chill until needed: it will keep for several days in the fridge.
(2) For the salad, mix the ingredients together, stirring through enough of the dressing to give a light coating. Sprinkle over crispy chicken skins if you have them (see above recipe).
Phil's Home Kitchen 