Chicken Caesar Salad with a Twist

Now here’s the thing about classic dishes:  You crave the flavours of the dish but they can become boring after a while.  This was my problem with chicken Caesar salad:  Love the taste, tired of the same old salad.

Here’s my recipe for the Chicken Caesar Salad with a twist.  I’ve kept the same essential ingredients (Romaine lettuce, chicken, bacon, Caesar dressing, and croutons) but changed things up a bit.  Instead of the traditional croutons to top the salad, why not coat the chicken breast with breadcrumbs?  I’m not reinventing the wheel here, but this little substitution is a fun twit on the classic.

You can use regular breadcrumbs or mash up some croutons to coat the chicken.  Because I love to lower my carb intake when possible, I replaced the breadcrumbs with almond meal.  It was as delicious but with way less carbohydrate!  Yay!

For the chicken, you can buy already cut scaloppini but regular chicken breasts will work great too.  Simply cut the breasts in half lengthwise and pound the chicken to flattened.

Quick Caesar Salad Dressing

§  1 cup mayonnaise

§  1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

§  1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

§  2 garlic cloves, minced

§  ¼ teaspoon salt

§  ½ cup Parmesan, grated

§  fresh ground pepper

Whisk all the ingredients together.

If you find that the dressing is a bit too thick, you can thin it with a tablespoon or so of milk.

This recipe is best prepared in advance and refrigerated so all the delicious flavours blend together.

Parmesan Chicken Scaloppini

§  4 large chicken or turkey scaloppini

§  2 cups breadcrumbs or almond meal

§  ¼ cup Parmesan, grated

§  1 teaspoon dried oregano

§  1 egg

§  Salt & pepper

§  Grape seed oil

In the first shallow dish, mix together the dry ingredients:  almond meal, Parmesan cheese, dried oregano, salt & pepper.

In the second shallow dish, whisk the egg.

Pat dry the chicken scaloppini with a paper towel.

Dip the chicken in the egg mixture to coat.  Remove any excess.

Coat the scaloppini in the almond mixture.

In a large skillet, heat up the grape seed oil over medium heat. 

When the oil is hot, cook the scaloppini until golden; 2 to 3 minutes on each side should do.

Chicken Caesar Salad with a Twist

§  1 head Romaine Lettuce

§  A few teaspoons of the Quick Caesar Salad Dressing

§  2 slices of bacon, diced

§  1 lemon, quartered

§  Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a small skillet, cook the bacon until it’s crisp.  Reserve.

Tear the washed and dried Romaine lettuce into small pieces and place in a large bowl.

Add a few teaspoons of the Caesar dressing to the lettuce and mix well.

Divide the dressed salad and top with the sliced Parmesan Chicken, a few pieces of bacon and some fresh Parmesan cheese.

Serve with a quartered lemon.

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