This is a classic salad with the original recipe dating back to the 1920’s, however it is still a very relevant recipe in the 2020’s. It’s light and full of flavor. Most people credit restaurateur Caesar Cardini with creating this salad. Rosa, his daughter, recalled that her father created the salad at the restaurant in Tijuana after the kitchen ran out of supplies during a 4th of July rush in 1924. Cardini got by with what he had on hand at the time. This salad has been credited to several people, but I think this narrative is the most popular.

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Ingredients:

• 1 head of washed Cos/Romaine lettuce
• 80g – 100g sliced smoked chicken
• 6 rashers of streaky bacon
• 3 eggs
• 1 small focaccia roll
• 50g shaved parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp. Anchovy fillets (about 5)
• 4 tbsp. good quality Caesar dressing or garlic aioli
• Garlic oil
• Salt & pepper

Method:

1. Bake the bacon on a slotted grill tray at 150°C, turning occasionally until crisp. Leave to cool and dice. The bacon can be drizzled with maple syrup before cooking for extra flavor.
2. Slice 7 – 10 pieces of Focaccia about 3mm thick and brush both sides with garlic oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake at 100°C until completely dry and crisp. These can be cut into cubes if you prefer or replaced with pre-made croutons.
3. Soft boil the eggs in gently boiling water for 6 and a half minutes. Move them to ice water to prevent further cooking, peel, and cut into quarters lengthways. The pieces should look similar to orange segments and the yolk should still be a little runny.

Construction:

1. Rip the lettuce into bite-sized pieces, season with salt and pepper, and mix with the bacon, parmesan, and dressing and bread crips/croutons in a bowl.
2. Place the eggs around the edge of the bowl.
3. Place the chicken on top and garnish with the anchovy fillets on top.
4. Enjoy. Additions such as cherry tomatoes and sliced capsicum can be added to bulk this salad up.