Rosie says: “I feel so fortunate that caesar salad exists, and chicken and avocado caesar, well… it is simply a bowl of all of my favourite things: anchovies, crunchy bread, roast chicken, avocado and, yes, lettuce!

“Not all caesar salads are created equal, and I like to think that this is up there with the best of them. I use a rotisserie chicken for ease, but also because they are always deliciously juicy, and that seasoned skin is just so good. Don’t throw away any of the juices that gather in the container – here, they’re poured over the bread before it’s crisped up and the skin itself is roasted to crisp shards to be scattered over the salad before serving.

“Making a caesar dressing can seem tricky, but my version is easy: using a couple of tablespoons of good mayonnaise emulsifies the dressing and makes sure it clings to the salad ingredients. I also roast the lemon to make it super juicy and intensify the flavour. Making the dressing in a bowl big enough to fit all of the ingredients reduces the washing up and ensures you use every scrap of that delicious dressing.”

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 oven-ready pre-cooked ciabatta loaf, torn into bite-size pieces
1 lemon, halved
olive oil, for drizzling
1 cooked rotisserie chicken
2 cos/romaine lettuces, chopped into lengths
1 large ripe avocado, halved and stoned
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing:

6 anchovy fillets in oil, drained and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
4 tbsp mayonnaise
50g parmesan cheese, finely grated
juice from 1 roasted lemon (see above)
1–2 tbsp water
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6.

Put the ciabatta pieces on a baking tray with the lemon halves. Drizzle with olive oil and pour over any juices from the rotisserie chicken, then season with salt and pepper.

Cook in the oven for 20 minutes, stirring the croutons and removing the lemon after 10 minutes.

Remove the meat from the chicken and tear it into chunks, setting the skin to one side (discard the bones). Lay the chicken skin on top of the croutons and return to the oven for a final 5 minutes to crisp up.

To make the dressing, put the anchovies and garlic on a board and use the back of a knife to crush them together into a paste. Scrape the paste into a large mixing bowl and add the mayonnaise, parmesan, the juice from the roasted lemon halves and 1 tablespoon of the water. Stir to combine, adding more water if needed, until the dressing coats the back of a spoon. Taste for seasoning.

Add the lettuce, chicken meat and half of the croutons to the bowl with the dressing and toss to coat. Divide between serving plates and finish with the remaining croutons, scoops of avocado and the crispy chicken skin. Serve immediately, with an extra drizzle of olive oil if you like.

Make ahead

You can shred the chicken, cover and chill for up to 2 days.

Make the dressing up to a week in advance and chill, then assemble the salad when ready to serve.

The shortcut

Using rotisserie chicken and doing minimal prep are both high-impact shortcuts. Restaurant-style caesar salad made effortless.

From The Shortcut Cook by Rosie Reynolds (£15, Hardie Grant), out now

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