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 cultivated chicken. Finish with the rest of the Parm.