whine & dine

This just goes to show that salad night isn’t necessarily a healthy event. From someone who grew up loathing salad bars (and, for that matter, vegetables in general like most children), this is indeed a welcome revelation.

Following a recipe for a caesar salad dressing from Shawn Armstrong’s Seafood: Recipes from The Cliff, and a chicken maryland-esque roast chicken and croutons idea from Jamie Oliver, I made possibly the least healthy salad ever, barring perhaps the foie gras, bacon and liver salad at L’Angelus on Club Street.

Whatever the case, it was pretty damn tasty. And if this is the only way parents will get their kids to swallow some greens, I say take it – since at least their kids will grow up knowing that just because it’s green doesn’t mean it ain’t gonna taste good.

Warm Caesar Salad
(Dressing recipe adapted Seafood: Recipes from The Cliff)

Dressing Ingredients:
10 anchovy fillets, preferably stored in olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and grated or minced
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
a small handful of finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg yolk
1 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 heads of baby butterhead (or any other combination of salad leaves)
2 free range eggs
20g Parmesan shavings

2 chicken legs (drumstick + thigh, or 3 chicken drumsticks)
10 sprigs of rosemary
3 garlic cloves
4 thick slices of ciabatta
olive oil
5 slices of pancetta
olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Finely chop 2 sprigs of rosemary and the 3 garlic cloves. Mix with 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste, then rub all over the chicken legs. Set aside for 5 minutes. Place the remaining rosemary sprigs at the bottom of a small roasting tray, tear up the ciabatta into rough chunks (roughly 2 inch cubes) and place over the rosemary. Set the chicken legs, skin side up, over the ciabatta, and roast in the oven until meat is tender and comes off the bone easily – about 50 minutes. During the course of the roasting, shift the bread around a little two or three times to ensure that the pieces around the edges don’t burn. When the chicken is almost done, lay the pancetta over it and cook until the pancetta is just crisp.

While the chicken is cooking, make the salad dressing by whizzing the egg yolk, worcestershire, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic clove, mustard, and Parmesan up. Drizzle the olive oil in until it emulsifies, and all the oil is incorporated. Set aside. (Note: this recipe makes enough for 6-8 salads of this size, so store the rest in your refrigerator for later use.)

Place the eggs in cold water in a small saucepan, bring to the boil, and simmer for 8-10 minutes, depending on the size. Drain, and refresh in cold water to stop the cooking. Peel the eggs and either cut into wedges or slice. Rinse the salad leaves, and tear or cut up the bigger ones if necessary. Spin dry.

To assemble, toss the salad leaves in about 4-6 tbsp of the dressing. Peel the chicken meat off the bone, and roughly chop, with the crispy pancetta. Scrape off any blackened bits from the croutons, and cut the bigger ones into half or slightly smaller pieces. Toss the chicken, pancetta and croutons with the salad leaves briefly, then transfer to clean, warmed plates, and place egg slices around the salad. Finish by shaving more Parmesan over the top of the salad, and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.

Serves 4 as a starter, or 2 greedy people for a one-plate dinner.