, Step by step

Chicken, Egg and Watercress Caesar Style Salad

A favourite classic salad, featuring seasonal watercress, ideal for this time of year

Mark Stower, Director of Food and Service

Preparation Time: 20 mins

Cooking Time: 15 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Step 1

Prepare the chicken - place the chicken onto a lined baking tray, coat each piece with a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C for approximately 12-15 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, then slice.
Step 2

Prepare the croutons - tear the baguette into small pieces and place into a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and mix well. Place onto a baking tray and bake in the oven at 180°C until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Step 3

Prepare the lettuce - remove the core of the lettuce, discard the outer leaves and chop the leaves in half. Place into a colander, along with the watercress, and wash thoroughly. Allow to drain well.
Step 4

To assemble the salad - arrange the salad leaves in bowls and scatter with the croutons. Top with the sliced chicken, 4 pieces of boiled egg and crispy bacon. Spoon over the Caesar dressing and sprinkle over some shaved parmesan cheese.

Watercress is a lovely and more unusual ingredient in Mark’s Caesar salad, adding lots of flavour and boosting the nutritional value of the dish.
Watercress, as its name implies, is an aquatic plant and, perhaps surprisingly, a member of the Brassica or cabbage family. Its natural habitat is the fast-flowing chalk streams of the British Isles, but it is found all over the world.
This plant is apparently among the most ancient leafy vegetables that humans have eaten. The Romans used it for medicinal purposes including for mental illness!
In Britain watercress became particularly popular in Victorian times and the new railways allowed it to be transported to markets such as Covent Garden, from the growing areas, particularly Hampshire, where there is still a ‘Watercress Line’ heritage railway.
Although watercress is 95% water, it is packed full of vitamins, including, A, C, E and K, as well as minerals, including calcium, magnesium, and iron. It is also one of the best sources of a type of beneficial ‘phytochemical’ called glucosinolates, which act as antioxidants in the body, helping protect against harmful inflammation.
Mark’s salad provides 50g watercress per person, so together with the lettuce, which is also rich in vitamins and minerals, it packs quite a significant nutritional punch.

Dr Juliet Gray, Nutritionist