Caesar Salad with Pan Grilled Chicken and Sweet Potato
Caesar Salad with Pan Grilled Chicken and Sweet Potato
This is a wonderful garlicky Caesar salad with black pepper grilled chicken, homemade croutons and some crispy sweet potatoes. It's made super easily with my semi-homemade Caesar dressing.
I once threw a potluck at our house for about 25 people and I made this salad to order without the chicken and potatoes. It was such a hit I went through 9 heads of romaine! It's all about the dressing and tossing it with lots of garlic and fresh lemon juice just before serving. The homemade croutons are really special too.
This dressing is so easy because you start with store bought light mayonnaise. No messing around with coddling eggs and making your own. Do use a real mayo though because other sandwich spreads and dressings will have too much sweetness and other flavors that will throw off the taste of the Caesar Dressing you want to create. I'm using a tube of Anchovy paste here but if you really like anchovies in your Caesar by all means get a tin of anchovy fillets and mince them up.
Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl so you can toss the salad in on top of it.
I actually started this salad by chopping up one large sweet potato and tossing it in a seasoned salt and pepper mix I had and some grape seed oil but you could use whatever seasoning mix you like and any good oil. Then I put together the dressing while the potatoes baked at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Next I prepared the chicken breasts by butterflying a couple of very large breasts and then sprinkling them with a little salt, grape seed oil and a lot of fresh ground pepper.
To butterfly a chicken breast start cutting the breast in half as if you were making a cutlet but stop just short of cutting all the way through. Open it up and you have what looks like a heart!
I know, not a butterfly...
While the potatoes were crisping and the chicken marinating, I started warming my cast iron grill pan then I chopped up a big head of romaine and put it in the large bowl with the Caesar dressing.
I topped the romaine with some homemade croutons (you could use store bought of course) and some shredded Parmesan cheese. Try my recipe for How to Make Great Croutons.
Next it was time to get the chicken on the grill! Of course my grill pan was too small for both of the breasts butterflied like that so I did one at a time. They take just a few minutes each. Make sure the grill pan is very hot and the chicken sizzles nicely when you put it in the pan so that you will get those beautiful grill marks and some browning.
I grilled the chicken until it just starts to turn opaque at the edges. Peek to make sure you have good grill marks. If you don't, turn up the heat a touch and let it cook a bit longer.
Then I flipped and grilled the other side just until I had good grill marks and the breast began to feel firm. Then I removed it from the grill pan to an ovenproof dish so I could grill the other breast. When it was finished I added it to the first breast and put it in the oven at 350 degrees to finish cooking, about 10 minutes more.
While the chicken was grilling I removed the sweet potatoes from the oven because they were nice and crispy and brown and set them on the stove top to rest. I also turned the oven down to 350 degrees so that I could finish the chicken there.
When the chicken was done baking, I let it rest for a couple of minutes while I tossed the salad.
I added the roasted sweet potatoes and tossed a little bit more.
Then I sliced up the chicken breasts and served!
I hope you give this a try because it is really delish!
Serves 2 as a meal
Cheers!
~Melisa
Caesar Salad with Pan Grilled Chicken and Sweet Potato
Ingredients
For the Salad Dressing:
1/4 cup Light Mayo (I use Kroger Brand)
2 large minced cloves of garlic
juice of 1/2 a lemon freshly squeezed
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons Anchovy Paste
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
salt and pepper to taste
For the Potatoes:
1 large sweet potato
season salt and pepper to taste
enough oil to coat the potatoes
For the Chicken:
2 large chicken breasts, butterflied
1 1/2 teaspoons of oil
Salt and a generous amount of pepper
For the Salad:
1 large head of romaine chopped
3/4 cup good croutons
1/4 shredded Parmesan plus more for serving
Method
Chop up one large sweet potato and toss it in a seasoned salt and pepper mix and any good oil.
Then put together the dressing while the potatoes bake at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Mix all of the dressing ingredients together in a large bowl so you can toss the salad in on top of it.
Butterfly 2 large breasts then sprinkle them with a little salt, grape seed oil and a lot of fresh ground pepper.
Start warming a cast iron grill pan then chop the romaine and put it in the large bowl with the Caesar dressing. Top the romaine with croutons and the Parmesan cheese.
Next grill the chicken. While grilling the chicken you should removed the sweet potatoes from the oven when they are crispy and browned and set them on the stove top to rest.
Then turn the oven down to 350 degrees to finish the chicken there.
Grill the chicken until it just starts to turn opaque at the edges. Peek to make sure you have good grill marks. If you don't, turn up the heat a touch and let it cook a bit longer. Flip and grill the other side until I have good grill marks and the breast begins to feel firm. Then remove it from the grill pan to an ovenproof dish and grill the other breast. When it is finished grilling add it to the first breast and put it in the oven at 350 degrees to finish cooking, about 10 minutes more.
When the chicken is done baking, let it rest for a couple of minutes while tossing the salad.
Add the roasted sweet potatoes and toss a little bit more.
To plate the salad, add 1/2 of the tossed Caesar salad to a serving dish, top that with a little more shredded Parmesan and then a sliced chicken breast.
Serve with freshly ground pepper and lemon wedges and great loaf of sourdough bread!
