“Greek” Chicken Caesar Salad with Polenta Croutons – May #RecipeRedux

I feel so lame.  Only my second month as part of the Recipe Redux, and I almost bailed.  And even though I didn’t, I still feel like this recipe is a bit of a cop out.

Just as a reminder, the Recipe Redux is a recipe challenge and blog hop started by registered dietitians, with a focus on DELICIOUS and nutritional foods.  Yes, eating healthy can be tasty!  And that is what all of the participants are here to show you.  Each month there is a theme, and we all post our takes on the theme on the 21st of each month.

This month’s theme is “Sea What You’ve Been Missing” – Unfortunately, Americans don’t eat enough fish as well as some of the more obscure treasures from the sea that provide great nutrition. This month’s challenge is to create an appealing recipe using “little fishes” (sardines, anchovies, smelts, etc.) or sea vegetables (kelp, seaweed, etc.) Expand your readers (and your!) ocean horizons to these culinary treats.

So, anyway, I barely got this recipe planned, made, photographed, and written.  Why, you ask?  Well…

Obstacle #1 – When I told The Hubby about the theme, he freaked.  And this is a man who loves all types of seafood.  But for some reason, he is skeeved by the little fishies.  Weird.  Of course, I have never really eaten them, myself, to tell you the truth.  And the last time I tried something with seaweed was memorable – and not in a good way.  So to solve this, I thought I would try a recipe where the little fishies are all mashed up.  See – total cop out!

Obstacle #2 – Life got kind of busy since the last Redux, so there I was, one week left before posting, and I still hadn’t finalized a recipe or made it.  But I finally found something, figured out when I could get the ingredients and make it, and thought I was set, until…

Obstacle #3 – Stomach virus.  Ugh!  Nothing sounded appealing, especially salad.  Or garlic.  Or chicken.  Or (especially) anchovies.  Luckily I started feeling better just in time to make this recipe before I was leaving for a long weekend away.

Obstacle #4 – I sorta, kinda didn’t read my Greek yogurt carefully, thought I put plain in my smoothie, figured I’d use the little bit remaining in the dressing before I opened a new container, mixed it all up, poured some of it over my chicken to marinade, then realized – VANILLA!!!  Luckily it was only about a tablespoon of the full half cup, so you couldn’t detect the flavor and sweetness after it was masked by all of the other flavors.

But I am a fighter, and I overcame all those obstacles to give you Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad.

Because that is novel, right?!  Well, I did kind of make it a little new and interesting.  I lightened up the dressing by making it with Greek yogurt (and no raw eggs, for those that are freaked out by such things), based on this recipe from Jamie Oliver.  I didn’t change it much.  Just increased the amount of Greek yogurt and adjusted the other ingredients.  This allowed the dressing to do double-duty as a chicken marinade because Greek yogurt is awesome for tenderizing chicken, keeping it moist, and being helping to infuse the flavors that you add to the marinade into the chicken.

And Caesar dressing need croutons, right?  But I need gluten-free croutons.  So I got a little creative with some things in my pantry, and made polenta croutons.  Yay for gluten-free croutons!

And The Hubby loved it, even though he knew it had anchovies.  So try it.  Don’t be afraid!!  All they do is add a little saltiness, and no fishy flavor.  Of course, you probably just could throw in some salt, which I what I would probably do if I didn’t have a can of anchovies in my pantry (which is pretty much never), but that wouldn’t get these healthy little critters into your diet, now would it?

Oh, and be sure to check out the other Redux participants’ recipes and blogs by using the links below.

Are you an anchovy lover or hater?

5.0 from 1 reviews

“Greek” Chicken Caesar Salad with Polenta Croutons

 

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Recipe type: Salad, Main

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• ½ c plain Greek yogurt
• 2 anchovy fillets
• 1 garlic clove, minced or crushed
• 2 T fresh lemon juice
• 3 t Worcesteshire sauce
• 2 T olive oil
• 3 T grated parmesan cheese
• salt & pepper
• ½ to ¾ lb thinly sliced chicken breasts
• romaine lettuce, chopped or torn (I used two small organic romaine hearts for two salads)
• Italian Herb Parmesan Polenta Croutons (see recipe link below)
• Additional parmesan cheese, for serving

Instructions

1. Combine the the first 8 ingredients (through salt & pepper) in a bowl and whisk together.
2. Pour about ¼ c of the dressing over the chicken and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (or up to several hours, if you have time).
3. Preheat your grill to high heat.
4. Place the chicken on the grill, reduce heat to medium, and grill for about 2-4 minutes per side, or until cooked through, depending on how thick your chicken is.
5. Remove from the grill, and set aside.
6. Toss the romaine lettuce with a few tablespoons of the dressing, divide between plates.
7. Slice the chicken breasts into strips.
8. Top lettuce with chicken, croutons, parmesan cheese, and additional dressing, if desired.

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The recipe for the Italian Herb and Parmesan Polenta Croutons can be found HERE.

This recipe was adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Caesar on the Light Side.

Enjoy!


This recipe was shared with:

Amee’s Savory Dish Fit and Fabulous Fridays #33

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Tagged as: Cheese, Chicken, Chobani, Croutons, Dinner, Gluten-free, greek yogurt, Lunch, Polenta, Recipe Redux, Salad, Veggies