Ingredients
- 1 romaine lettuce
- 1/4 iceberg lettuce
- 1 cup handful watercress
- 14-15 cherry tomatoes
- 2 chicken breasts ~1 lb or 450 grams total
- 5 bacon slices ~3.5 oz or 100 grams
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese ~1.7 oz or 50 grams
- 1 avocado
- 2 tbsp finely chopped chives
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup of any neutral-tasting oil sunflower oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, or light olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp for the vinaigrette and 1/2 tsp for seasoning the chicken breast
- 1 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp for the vinaigrette and 1/2 tsp for seasoning the chicken breast
Instructions
- Chop the romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, and watercress, and wash them and dry them in a salad spinner (note 1).
- In a pan, over medium-high heat, cook the bacon for about 6-8 minutes until crispy (note 2). Once the bacon is done, set it aside on a paper towel to cool down.
- Cook the chicken breasts. First, butterfly the chickens (slicing each breast into two thinner ones horizontally, so you’ll end up with four thinner chicken breasts) and season them with salt and black pepper. In the same pan you cooked the bacon in, in the leftover bacon fat, cook the chicken breasts over medium-high heat until fully cooked, about 3-4 minutes on each side if they’re butterflied (note 3).
- Boil the eggs until they’re hard-boiled, and then peel the eggs. See my method for boiling eggs in note 4 below.
- Make the vinaigrette dressing. In a large bowl, add the red wine vinegar, mustard, sugar, 1/2 tsp of salt, and 1/2 tsp of black pepper. Mix with a whisk while drizzling in the oil (both the salad oil and the extra-virgin olive oil) until the vinaigrette is emulsified (note 5).
- Get all the ingredients ready to assemble the salad. Chop up the eggs, tomatoes, bacon, chicken, and avocado. Crumble the blue cheese and mince the chives.
- Divide the lettuce mix between 1-4 large bowls or plates. This recipe makes about 4 big portions, but it’s up to you how you decide to serve it. You can serve it as one big platter for the table, two larger bowls to share, or four individual (big) portions. We chose two large bowls to share at the table.
- With your ingredients chopepd, arrange them in rows across the top of the salad greens.
- Finally, once arranged, pour your vinaigrette over the top of the salad (as much or as little as you want). Or you can serve the vinaigrette on the side so each person can pour the amount they would like.
Recipe Notes
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Note 1: If you don’t have a salad spinner, simply wash the lettuce and watercress, drain it, and dry it on paper towels.
Note 2: You can alternatively cook the bacon in the oven on a baking sheet at 430°F (220°C) for about 15 minutes or until you get the desired crispiness. I prefer the pan method for this salad as it’s quicker and we’ll use the bacon fat to cook the chicken in it.
You can also cook the bacon in an air fryer (if you have one). Use whatever method you prefer to get crispy bacon.
Note 3: If you didn’t cook the bacon in the pan, simply grease the pan with 1 tbsp of any neutral-tasting oil (light olive oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil) instead of the bacon fat before cooking the chicken in the pan.
Note 4: This method works for me every time for making the perfect hard-boiled eggs but you can use whatever method you prefer.
- Add the eggs to a pot with cold water and salt (about 2-3 tbsp of table salt to make the eggs easier to peel). Set the pot on the stove over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil.
- Once the water starts boiling, turn down the heat to medium, and let the eggs boil for 5 minutes. Then, turn the heat off and cover the pot with a lid, and let the eggs sit in the pot for 5 minutes.
- Afterward, transfer the eggs to a bowl with ice water or simply cold water. Let them cool for a couple of minutes and peel them as soon as they’re cool enough to handle but still warm.
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