Pasta Caesar Salad With Chicken
Prevention’s Ultimate Quick and Healthy Cookbook Copyright 1998
3 tablespoons nonfat mayonnaise I used half light/half full-fat mayo
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, coarsely grated
2 tablespoons Italian parsley springs
1 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon defatted reduced sodium chicken broth
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
6 ounces cavatappi pasta
8 ounces thin-sliced chicken cutlets, cut into 1-9inch pieces
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 bunch arugula or watercress, washed, tough stems removed I used baby arugula
1. Bring a large covered pot of water to a boil over high heat. Preheat the broiler. Spray a jelly-roll pan with no-stick spray.
2. Meanwhile, combine the mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan, the parsley sprigs, 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, the broth, half of the garlic, the anchovy paste and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper in a food processor or blender, and process until smooth.
3. Add the pasta to the boiling water; return to a boil and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions until al dente. Drain in a colander and cool briefly under cold running water; drain again.
4. Place the chicken in the prepared pan. Drizzle the remaining 1 teaspoon lemon juice over the chicken. Sprinkle with the remaining crushed garlic, the remaining ¼ teaspoon pepper and the salt and toss to mix. Broil 3 to 4 inches from the heat for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and lightly browned. Remove from the heat. I pan-fried the chicken in a nonstick skillet.
5. Transfer the pasta to a salad bowl. Add the arugula or watercress, the dressing, the chicken and any juices that have collected in the pan, and the remaining Parmesan. Toss to coat water.
Makes 4 servings. Per Serving: 274 calories, 3.9 g fat, 39 mg chol, 394 mg sodium, 2.1 g fiber.
I've had my eye on this recipe for a long, long time. Usually, that means disappointment, as my expectations seem to grow too high if I wait too long to make a recipe. A few years ago, when I first purchased this cookbook, it wasn't always easy to find cavatappi or anchovy paste in the local grocery stores. Yes, I could have used any pasta shape but sometimes I'm funny about that.
I was a bit worried about the arugula or watercress because I'm not a fan of bitter greens. I was thinking about just using Romaine lettuce but when I saw baby arugula leaves, I thought they would be perfect. I don't believe in nonfat mayonnaise and I wasn't brave enough to use only light mayonnaise but I think I could have gone with all light. The other flavors are so strong, I think it would have worked well enough.
So for once I wasn't disappointed. Arugula isn't my favorite thing but the dressing was tasty enough to make up for that. I'll probably use the dressing on Romaine sometime in the future.
Question of the Day: Which salad greens do you prefer?
5 comments:
Mesclun. I love the wide variety of cute little odd shaped leaves. I think 'field greens' are supposed to be the same thing, but the leaves in that seem to be of only a few kinds - or at least not as many as mesclun. One year I planted mesclun in my garden and that was really great.
Baby Spinach! I like to make a baby spinach salad with blue cheese, toasted pecans, red onions, dried cranberries, and a raspberry vinaigrette. :)
I'm an iceberg lettuce kind of gal however, I do like baby spinach but no one else in the family does so it usually goes limp before I can eat it all.
BTW...I'm making the lasagna recipe tonight...I'll let you know how it rates.
I like a variety.Arugula to me is good paired with steaks,because of the spice.Really any kind is good with me.
I love argula, which is weird because I hate bitter greens. I like Romaine too and red leaf. I don't like iceberg and I never use it except for one recipe for a chinese chicken salad. It works well in that.
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