Chargrilled chicken caesar salad
This recipe featured in the July edition of Hampshire Life magazine with wine matches from Berry Bros & Rudd.
This dish was born of my new love of cooked lettuce and a long-term addiction for umami-rich Caesar dressing.
Despite it having no place in the original recipe, chicken is now a regular addition to pub Caesars and I really enjoy the extra texture it lends. The dish is at its best made on a charcoal barbecue, but will still be delicious on a gas barbie or in griddle pans on the hob. This month I’m featuring 3 producers who have been doing an incredible job of serving their local community with deliveries during the lockdown. They’re not alone: all across the county our farmers have been working even harder than usual to get top quality ingredients to the people who need them. The best way for us to show our gratitude is to continue to buy from them long after the supermarket stock levels return to normal.
Chargrilled chicken caesar salad
Serves 4
4 chicken thighs, boned but skin left on
4 little gem lettuces, halved
2 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
4 slices sourdough bread
1 garlic clove, halved
for the dressing:
2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp Old Winchester cheese, finely grated
3 tbsp good quality mayonnaise
a squeeze of lemon
- Make the dressing by mixing together all the ingredients. Add a few teaspoons of water until you have a drizzleable consistency, then chill until needed.
- Prepare your barbecue or heat a griddle pan until smoking hot.
- Brush the chicken and lettuce on both sides with oil and season with salt and pepper. Barbecue or griddle for 3 minutes on each side or until the chicken is cooked through and the lettuce is nicely charred in places.
- Toast the sourdough slices on the barbecue or griddle for a minute or so on each side, then rub with the halved garlic clove and drizzle with oil.
- Arrange the chicken, lettuce and bread on four plates or a large platter and drizzle over the dressing. Serve straight away.
Local producers
Chicken – Noah’s Ark Farm
New Milton, 01425 638079
Sourdough bread – Hoxton Bakehouse
Southampton, Winchester & Lymington, 02381 785542
Old Winchester – Lyburn Farmhouse Cheesemakers
Landford, 01794 399982
