Chicken Cesar pasta salad is the best of both worlds. Salad and pasta. What could be better than that! Especially with a homemade Cesar dressing, its perfect for your next gathering.
To a bowl, season chicken with all purpose seasoning and paprika. Massage well.
2 chicken breasts, 1 tbsp all purpose seasoning, ½ tbsp smoked paprika
To a skillet on medium high heat, add in oil once the pan is hot and sear chicken on both sides until cooked through, about 4 minutes on each side. Cube chicken and set aside.
1 tbsp olive oil
Cesar Dressing
To a bowl, add in 1 can of anchovies along with ½ tbsp of the oil from the can. Mash anchovies to create a paste.
1 can anchovies
To the same bowl, add in shallot, garlic, mustard, w sauce, lemon juice, and egg yolk. Whisk to combine.
½ shallot, 1 garlic clove , 1½ tbsp dijon mustard, 1 tbsp W sauce, juice of half a lemon, 2 egg yolks
Slowly add in olive oil and whisk simultaneously. This will cause the dressing to emulsify and become lighter in color and thicker in texture. (At this time, you can also add in parmesan for a traditional Cesar dressing, but we will be adding this to the final product later). Add black pepper to taste
⅛ cup olive oil
Assembly
Add in cooked rotini pasta, washed and chopped romaine lettuce, cooked chicken, and parmesan to a bowl and toss. Serve immediately.
1 head romaine lettuce, ¼ cup parmesan cheese , Cesar dressing, cooked chicken