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Spiced chicken Caesar salad

Preparation time

less than 30 mins

Cooking time

10 to 30 mins

Serves

Serves 8

By Simon Rimmer

From Something for the Weekend

Ingredients

For the dressing

250g/9oz ready-made mayonnaise
100g/3½oz parmesan, freshly grated, plus extra parmesan shavings, to serve
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
30g/1oz Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 salted anchovy fillets
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 red chilli, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salad

2 x 175g/6oz hot smoked chicken breasts, sliced
2 tbsp kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 red onion, finely sliced
8 leaves Little Gem lettuce, or similar crisp lettuce leaves
2 fresh anchovy fillets, finely chopped
1 tbsp ready-made croûtons
freshly ground black pepper, to serve

Method

For the dressing, blend the mayonnaise, grated parmesan and white wine vinegar in a food processor until very smooth.
Add the Dijon mustard, garlic, anchovy fillets, smoked paprika and chilli. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Blend until smooth, adding a little water to thin the dressing if necessary.
For the salad, place the cooked chicken slices, kidney beans and onion into a bowl. Pour over 6-8 tablespoons of the dressing and mix well to coat the salad ingredients. (The remaining dressing can be kept for up to three days in the fridge and used in another recipe.)
To serve, place one Little Gem lettuce leaf onto each of eight serving plates. Spoon some of the Caesar salad into each lettuce leaf. Sprinkle over the chopped anchovies, croûtons and a few parmesan shavings. Season, to taste, with freshly ground black pepper.