If you love delicious Cesar salad, and crispy chicken tenders, then this is the recipe for you! I love Cesar salad, but hate what it does to my waistline, and also happen to think chicken fingers are delightful, but the pre-packaged ones are full of chemicals and preservatives that I don't want to put in my body. This recipe is delicious, tastes like the real thing, and yet has very little of the real guilt associated with Cesar salads. The chicken/turkey is baked, and the salad dressing does contain some bad things (like Parmesan cheese), but in pretty minimal doses, and you can't take everything delicious out without completely losing the flavour! My husband is currently obsessed with this meal, and we have made it several times in the last couple of weeks. We often make it with spinach, since there is more protein there than in plain lettuce, but this recipe works well with any salad greens. Feel free to add in whatever salad veggies you love, we often mix it up just to keep it interesting!
Chicken*
*This recipe has enough for 2-4 servings.
300g boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c flour
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1-2 dried basil leaves, crushed
3/4 c bread crumbs (if making your own, let them dry out for a day or so first so you get extra crispy chicken. You can also use crackers, cornflakes, rice cakes or whatever else you have on hand, we often make out own with stale bread or crusts, just let the bread dry out, and pop it in the food processor)
2 eggs whites + 1 egg yolk (reserve remaining egg yolks for dressing)
pepper to taste
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2) Trim chicken of fat and slice into strips.
3) In one container mix flour and all spices, in another contain put breadcrumbs and pepper. In a third container whisk egg & egg whites, adding a tiny bit of milk if necessary to thin out.
4) One piece at a time, dredge chicken strips in egg --> flour --> egg --> breadcrumbs.
5) Place chicken on a non-stick cookie sheet & bake for 12-14 mins or until tops are golden brow,, flipping halfway through.
Cesar Dressing
1-2 egg yolks
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp red wine vingear
1 tbsp white wine
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp fish sauce (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground pepper (freshly ground is best!)
1 tbsp Parmesan cheese
1) Whisk eggs yolks with oil, vinegar & wine until creamy**.
2) Add lemon juice, Worcestershire & mustard and whisk vigorously for 1-2 minutes**
3) Add remaining ingredients and mix.
4) Store in fridge and eat within about 7 days.
Conversely, you can skip the egg yolks, oil and half the vinegar and use mayonnaise instead. I recommend the Olive Oil Mayonnaise that Hellman's makes.
** I make my dressing in a glass jar with a lid that seals well. After gently whisking all ingredients I put on the lid and shake it like crazy for a couple of minutes. I find this is just as effective as whisking, and it seems a lot easier to me!
Salad
Like I said we usually use spinach, but have done it with lettuce and mixed greens as well. Although normal Cesar salad is just veggies and dressing, we usually get bored with that so always include several other veggies. Our favourites for this salad are mushrooms, red pepper and avocado, although grated carrot and diced celery are nice as well.
Sometimes we put bacon on our salads as well, to cook bacon we put two strips between paper towel and microwave it for 1-2 minutes on high or until its very crispy. We then roll the bacon between more paper towel to get as much of the grease off as possible. This way you get the deliciously salty-smokey flavour of bacon without your salad dropping with grease!
There is no better way to eat it, right?! Thanks for linking up at Domestic Superhero's Thursday Link Party!
ReplyDelete