Last year when I was flipping through an issue of Bon Appetite magazine, I came across a recipe for Spicy Pork Noodle soup that called for Mustard Greens. The article mentioned that if you couldn’t find Mustard Greens, then Kale would do as a substitute. Since I couldn’t find Mustard Greens I made the soup with Kale.
Turns out that Kale is actually pretty good, at least I think so. As a result I like to buy a bunch when I see it in the grocery store in case I feel like a big bowl of soup. In this instance I was making salad not soup but thought that Kale might make a good substitute for Romain lettuce.
Turns out it does. It provides a bit more flavour (slight peppery taste) and a better texture. Anyways when you have a little Kale, a little Bacon, a couple of Chicken breasts, voila you have a Cajun Chicken Kale Caesar Salad.
Cajun Chicken Kale Caesar Salad
- 2 Chicken breasts (butterflied)
- 2-3 Tbsp of Cajun Seasoning
- 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil
- 1 Wedge of Lemon
- 1 Head of Kale
- 5-6 strips of Bacon (Pancetta also works well for this dish)
- 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1 stale day old Bun or 2 pieces of Bread
- 1 Tsp Butter
- 1 Tsp Garlic Salt
- 4-5 Tbsp of your favourite Caesar Salad dressing (my own recipe is at the bottom of the page)
Cajun Seasoning
- 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Tbsp Onion Power
- 2 Tsp White Pepper
- 2 Tsp Black Pepper
- 2 Tsp Cayenne Pepper (Increase or decrease depending on how hot you want the seasoning)
- 2 Tsp Thyme
- 1/2 Tsp Oregano
- 1 Tsp Paprika
(Note: The prepackaged Blackening spice mixture from Silk Road Spice Merchant is really quite good and is what I’m currently using)
Cajun Chicken
- Preheat oven to 350°
- In a bowl mix Cajun seasoning with Olive Oil and mix together. When mixed together should be almost like a paste.
- Add Chicken one piece at a time and coat well. Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Turn chicken over and continue baking for another 6-8 minutes or until cooked through.
- Remove from oven and let cool. Once cooled cut into strips.
Garlic Croutons
- Butter both sides of your bun/bread and sprinkle garlic salt on each side. Heat a medium size saute pan over medium heat. Saute bun/bread in saute pan until golden brown. (You can also do this in the oven. Cut the bun/bread into cubes, mix well with olive oil and bake at 350° for 10 min until golden brown)
- Remove from pan and let cool. Once cool cut into bite sized pieces.
Caesar Salad
- Dice bacon and cook over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon from pan and set aside.
- Wash and dry Kale thoroughly. Cut Kale into shreds and place in a large mixing bowl. Add 2 Tbsp of Caesar salad dressing and 1/2 of the grated parmesan cheese. Mix together well. Continue to add Caesar salad dressing until you have desired coating of dressing.
- Squeeze the wedge of lemon over the salad
- Dish salad into bowls. Garnish each bowl with croutons, bacon, and remaining parmesan cheese.
- Places sliced pieces of chicken on top of salad. Serve with an wedge of lemon.
Cheers and happy eating.
LB
My personal caesar salad dressing
- 2-3 Tbsp of Mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp of Dijon Mustard
- 2 Tsp of Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Tbsp of Garlic Salt (If you have time you can also use roasted garlic 3-4 cloves)
- 1 Tbsp of grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 Tsp of Black Pepper
- 1/4 Tsp of Anchovy Paste (This is only if I have it in the house. If you don’t have don’t worry about it. )
Add all ingredients into a bowl and mix together well.
