Portions

5

Ready In:

20mins

Good For:

Side dish, Main Dish & Picnic

Ingredients

  • Large cos lettuce (or baby gem, iceberg lettuce)- remove stem, wash leaves
  • 240g streaky bacon- roughly chopped
  • 200g mayonnaise
  • 5 eggs- hard boiled (8mins)- peeled
  • 1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp Worcester sauce
  • 20g parmesan-finely grated
  • 80g panko crumbs
  • 2 spring onions- thinly sliced
  • 30g butter
  • 20ml olive oil
  • 1 lemon- juice only
  • 3tsp milk
  • 3 anchovy fillets- finely chopped
  • 3tsp chopped parsley
  • 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
  • 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
  • 1tsp almonds
  • 1tsp walnuts

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1

Looking back at all the times I ate out in London with chef friends, the thing to do in those days (if you worked in the culinary scene and it was lunchtime), was to sample their chicken Caesar salad. If that was great then the entire menu has a chance. I cannot tell you how many I’ve eaten over the years.

Step 2

This recipe has a short cut to make it more home-friendly, so we’re using a mayonnaise base rather than make the entire dressing from scratch. 

Lets start by draining the washed salad leaves very well in a colander. Using your hands rip the leaves into preferred size. If you cut the leaves this will accelerate the browning process, some herbs are the same and should be ripped instead of chopped. Basil for instance. 

 

Step 3

In a large frying pan over a medium to high heat, add oil and butter, heat for 1min, and then add the panko crumbs. Season a little with salt and pepper, and toss or stir until they start to brown. 

After 2mins or when the crumbs start browning, add all the seeds & nuts and cook for another 2mins or until the nuts and seeds start to lightly colour. 

Drain the crumb mixture onto a paper towel and return the pan to the stove. Increase the heat to high, add the bacon and cook for 5mins until it’s brown and lightly crispy. Remove from heat and drain off the excess fat. Pour the seed and crumb mixture into a bowl and add the bacon, stir through. 

Step 4

To make the dressing it’s easy. In a mixing bowl, add the mayonnaise and lemon juice. Mince the garlic using a little salt and add this to the mayonnaise along with the anchovy, Dijon, spring onion, Worcester sauce, parmesan and chopped parsley. Stir through to evenly mix the ingredients and then add milk to make it a dressing consistency. 

Season to taste. Add more garlic and anchovy if you prefer stronger flavours. 

 

Step 5

To assemble the salad, mix together salad leaves and a bit of dressing in a large bowl. Some people over-dress a salad by mistake so I always start with slightly less and add more accordingly. 

Toss and season with salt and freshly milled pepper.

Gently arrange your salad into it’s presentation bowl or on plates. Cut eggs into half or quarters, and place over the top. 

Step 6

To finish, scatter crumb and bacon mixture over the top of the salad, covering the eggs as you do. This salad is delicious by itself, or as a sandwich filling, maybe a side option, or you can jazz it up with garlic prawns, buttermilk fried chicken, grilled fish, chilli pork, pickled beef, and lots lots more. 

Step 7

We would love to see your creations of this dish by hash tagging your photo with #familykitchenwithmark.

New to Family Kitchen with Mark? So many people tell me they don’t enjoy meal times as they can’t think of ideas, think it’ll takes ages to cook, don’t have the ingredients etc. In our recipe section there’s heaps of original recipes for everyone to enjoy. PLEASE SHARE AND LETS SPREAD THE WORD.

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