Chicken peasar salad

We love a salad that's packed with flavour and texture

By Samuel Goldsmith | Jan 20, 2025

Sometimes you just have to jump all in and embrace the pun, but that doesn’t mean this spin on the classic caesar salad isn’t a serious recipe. Oh no, the peas bring another level to this gastro-pub favourite.

I scatter in the whole peas and also use some to create a vibrant dressing so you’re using all of the pea’s natural strengths. Peas upon peas upon peas.

Yields: 4 - 6

Ingredients

4 thick slices of white bread from a loaf, cut into chunks
3–4 tablespoons olive oil
2 skinless chicken breasts
2 Romaine heart lettuce
250g (9oz) frozen peas
1 garlic clove, crushed or finely grated (shredded)
4 anchovies from a tin
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
15g (1/2oz) Parmesan, grated (shredded), plus optional extra for shavings
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/390°F/gas 6.

Step 2

Scatter the bread chunks over a baking tray then drizzle with enough oil so that they are well coated. Season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper then bake in the hot oven, tossing every now and then, for 10–15 minutes or until golden and crisp. Set aside.

Step 3

Season the chicken generously all over with salt and pepper then fry in a frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat for 10–15 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked through. (At this point you can either continue to fry until cooked through or pop in the oven seeing as it’s already on and bake until cooked through, this will take a little longer but might save a little energy.) Set aside once cooked.

Step 4

Break the lettuces apart and separate them into single leaves. Either place the lettuce leaves on a serving platter or in a large salad bowl, ready to toss together with everything else.

Step 5

Place the frozen peas in a heatproof bowl and cover them with freshly boiled water to defrost. Leave for a few minutes and then drain. Place 175g (6oz) of the peas in with the lettuce and put the rest of the peas in a food processor.

Step 6

Add the garlic, anchovies, mayonnaise, extra virgin olive oil, lemon zest and juice and the grated (shredded) Parmesan to the processor, then blitz to a smooth, thin dressing. If you need to thin the dressing down a bit, add a splash of water or more extra virgin olive oil. Taste for seasoning then adjust with more salt and pepper to taste.

Step 7

Pour the dressing over the lettuce leaves and peas, then toss in the croutons. Chop or shred the chicken and add that in too, then toss everything together. Serve the salad on a large serving platter with some extra Parmesan shavings, if you like.

Samuel’s latest book, The Frozen Peas Cookbook, is bursting with easy weeknight dishes based off a humble bag of frozen peas. They’re easy, save you time, money and energy and offer a good, honest dose of veggies.