Recipe: Chicken Caesar salad with sourdough croutons and jammy eggs

Caesar salad is a classic for a reason; elevate it further with jammy egg yolks. Photo / Olivia Moore

I’ve always had a soft spot for Caesar salad.

A salad for all seasons, it’s the perfect blend of crunchy and creamy, mild and salty.

My version uses eggs that are not quite hard-boiled; the thick, jam-like yolks ooze when cut and create a delicious, velvety mouth feel.

Use your favourite sourdough for the croutons here.

Epic chicken Caesar salad with sourdough croutons and jammy eggs

Serves 3-4 as a main

Ingredients

• 2 thick slices sourdough
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 100g streaky bacon (two rashers)
• 1 head cos lettuce, roughly chopped
• 200g leftover roast chicken, chopped into bite-size pieces
• 4 Tbsp finely grated parmesan
• Finely grated lemon zest, to garnish

For the epic Caesar dressing:

• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 anchovy fillets, chopped
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 100ml neutral oil (such as sunflower or rice bran)
• 2 Tbsp finely grated parmesan
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• ½ tsp maple syrup
• ¼ tsp salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C fan bake.
2. Cut the bread into bite-size cubes and toss with the olive oil to coat. Arrange on a large baking tray, ensuring the cubes are spaced apart. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden and crisp.
3. Set a small, dry saucepan over medium heat. Add mustard seeds and when they begin to pop, reduce heat to medium-low and cover with a lid. Cook for 1 minute, shaking the pan occasionally, until fragrant (watch because they can burn easily). Transfer to a small bowl and set aside to cool.
4. Using a stick blender, blend the egg yolk, lemon juice, garlic, anchovies and mustard to combine. While blending, add a few drops of oil to emulsify, then increase to a thin stream. It should take 2-3 minutes to add all the oil. Add the cooled mustard seeds, along with the parmesan, lemon zest, Worcestershire sauce, maple syrup, salt and a good season of pepper. Set aside in the fridge.
5. Bring a saucepan of water to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Add eggs and maintain a gentle boil for 7 minutes. Shock the eggs in an ice bath and peel them when cool enough to handle. Cut each in half.
6. Meanwhile, fry the bacon. Drizzle a little olive oil in a frying pan, and set over high heat. Add the bacon and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until nicely browned and crisp. Chop and set aside.
7. To assemble, arrange the lettuce on your serving platter. Scatter over the chicken, bacon and croutons, and arrange the eggs over top. Dollop over the dressing and sprinkle over the parmesan and lemon zest. Serve immediately.

Olivia Moore and her Taupō business That Green Olive offer recipe development, food photography — in studio or on location — for restaurants and cafes, recipe video creation and social media content creation. Go to Olivia’s website for more recipes: www.thatgreenolive.com.

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