Chicken Caesar Salad With Chip Croutons And Confit Egg Yolk Recipe
medium
Ingredients
- 8 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
- 250g of Lamb Weston Triple Cooked Chunky Chips, carefully chopped into cubes
- 2 romaine lettuces, halved lengthways
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
- 3kg water
- 300g of salt
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 6 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 1 whole corn-fed chicken, around 1kg
- 1 garlic bulb
- 1 lemon
- olive oil, for brushing
- 200g of egg yolk
- 25g of truffle oil
- 6 egg yolks
- 12 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 tsp Dijon mustard
- 120g of Parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve
- 3 tbsp of lemon juice
- 300ml of neutral oil, such as vegetable or rapeseed
Method · 2 h
- Start the brine at least 8 hours before you want to serve. Place all of the brine ingredients in a pan, bring to the boil to dissolve the salt, then transfer to a container to cool completely. Once cool, chill the brine completely
- Submerge the chicken in the chilled brine then place in the fridge to brine for 4 hours
- Drain the chicken (discarding the brine) and pat it dry with kitchen paper
- Preheat the oven to 200°C. Brush the chicken with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the garlic bulb and lemon in the cavity and roast for 1 hour, or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and turn upside-down and allow to cool. Reserve the juices in the tray. Reduce the oven to 180°C
- Meanwhile, preheat a water bath to 70°C. Combine the egg yolk and truffle oil in a vacuum bag with a pinch of salt. Vacuum seal, submerge in the water bath and cook for 40 minutes. Transfer to a piping bag and set aside in the fridge until needed
- For the Caesar dressing, place the egg yolks, anchovies, garlic, Dijon mustard, Parmesan and lemon juice in a blender. Blend until combined then, with the motor still running, pour in the oil in a thin, steady stream to emulsify. Season with black pepper and transfer to a piping bag. Set aside in the fridge until needed
- Remove the chicken skin from the chicken and spread it out on a baking paper-lined baking tray. Place the bacon alongside and roast for 15 minutes, or until the bacon and chicken skin are crispy. Drain on kitchen paper, then finely chop and set aside
- Heat the vegetable oil in a deep pan over a medium-high heat, or preheat a deep-fat fryer to 180°C
- Remove the breast and legs from the bird and carve however you prefer (slice or pick the meat). Set aside
- Deep-fry the chips until golden and cooked through – around 3-5 minutes – then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Season with salt and pepper
- To serve, drizzle the reserved roasting juices from the chicken on the cut sides of the lettuces. Generously pipe over the confit egg yolk and Caesar dressing. Layer up the chicken, bacon and chicken skin. Finely grate over some Parmesan and arrange the chip croutons on top. Transfer to plates and serve
2 hours plus at least 2 hours cooling and chilling time and 4 hours brining time
Have you ever thought about making croutons out of chips? Chef James Cochran had this thought in his deconstructed reimagining of a chicken Caesar salad that comes together as something pretty special. Crunchy romaine lettuce wedges are generously coated in confit truffle egg yolk, a Parmesan-heavy Caesar dressing, crispy chicken skin and bacon – and the Lamb Weston chip croutons.
Imperial
CAESAR DRESSING
Water bath
Vacuum bag and machine
Temperature probe
Piping bags
Deep fat fryer
Parmesan, finely grated, extra to serve.
