Chicken Caesar Salad

UPSIDE chef Francesca Rufo’s ode to the classic Caesar. Roasted UPSIDE chicken is showcased on top of crisp romaine, golden breadcrumbs, and Parmesan cheese. All laced with a creamy, tangy Caesar dressing.

  • 100g UPSIDE chicken shreds
  • 220g Water
  • 50g Olive oil
  • 45g Levain loaf
  • 40g Canola oil
  • 34g Parmesan
  • 25g Egg yolk
  • 25g Romaine
  • 25g Radicchio
  • 25g Avocado
  • 20g Lemon juice
  • 15g Salt
  • 15g Lemon (with peel)
  • 10g Dijon mustard
  • 5g Honey
  • 5g Anchovy
  • 5g Water (warm)
  • 4g Worcestershire sauce
  • 3g Flat-leaf parsley
  • 3.3g Black pepper
  • 2g Sherry
  • 1g Thyme
  • 0.2g Bay leaf (1 leaf)
  • 1 Romaine head
  • 1 Radicchio head
Chicken Caesar Salad

Roasted Chicken

  • 220g Water
  • 9g Kosher salt
  • 5g Honey
  • 15g Lemon (with peel)
  • 0.2g Bay leaf (1 leaf)
  • 3g Flat-leaf parsley
  • 1g Thyme
  • 5g Garlic
  • 1g Black peppercorns
  • 100g UPSIDE chicken shreds

Add UPSIDE shreds to a Kitchen Aid mixer. Mix on lowest speed for 1-2 minutes until broken into natural pulled chicken shreds.

Make the brine: Add 80g of the water to a pot and bring to a light simmer. Add the salt and honey, and stir until dissolved. Add the lemon, bay leaf, parsley, thyme, garlic, and peppercorns. Simmer for 2 minutes. Add the remaining cold water to bring the total liquid to 1100g. Cool completely.

Add chicken to the brine, and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

Remove chicken from the marinade and pat dry. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat and sear the chicken until golden brown, stirring occasionally to ensure even cooking.

Caesar Dressing

  • 2g Garlic
  • 5g Salt
  • 10g Dijon
  • 4g Worcestershire sauce
  • 25g Egg yolk
  • 20g Lemon juice
  • 2g Sherry
  • 5g Anchovy
  • 1g Black pepper
  • 50g Canola oil
  • 40g Olive oil
  • 15g Parmesan
  • 5g Water, warm

Add the first nine ingredients to a deli cup. Blend with a hand blender until smooth. Stream in oils to emulsify—it should be just a bit looser than mayonnaise. Finish by mixing in the Parm.

Croutons

  • 45g Levain loaf
  • 1g Salt
  • 0.3g Black pepper
  • 10g Olive oil
  • 4g Parmesan, grated

Heat oven to 400ºF.

Carefully slice away the bread’s crust and hand-tear into croutons about the diameter of a dollar coin. Toss with salt, pepper, grated Parmesan, and olive oil.

Lay on a parchment-lined sheet tray, and bake for 5-10 minutes until golden. Let cool completely. Chef Rufo likes lots of texture in the salad—for this result, crush ¾ of the croutons into smaller bread crumbs.

To Finish

  • 100g Romaine
  • 25g Radicchio
  • 50g Caesar dressing
  • 15g Parmesan
  • 25g Croutons
  • 1g Black pepper
  • 25g Avocado
  • 100g UPSIDE chicken shreds

Add romaine and radicchio to a large bowl with Caesar dressing. Toss the salad until the leaves are evenly coated. Sprinkle in half the Parm, a few cracks of black pepper, and croutons. Mix one more time.

Plate the salad and top with avocado and the roasted UPSIDE chicken. Finish with the rest of the Parm.