Chicken Caesar Pasta and Romaine Lettuce Salad
Description
This yummy main dish salad is ready in less than 30 minutes. It makes a big batch but it can be easily cut in half if necessary. It will become a new favorite in your recipe box.
Ingredients
3 T. olive oil
1 3/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite-sized pieces
1 t. kosher salt, or to taste
1 t. freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1 lb. bowtie pasta (or ziti, penne, wheels, small shells, rotini, etc.)
10 oz. bag Romaine lettuce
2/3 c. diced tomatoes (Roma or halved cherry or grape tomatoes)
3/4 c. your favorite Caesar dressing, or to taste
2 T. balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
2/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste (freshly grated, the kind in the green container, or even a Parmesan-Pecorino blend)
Directions
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Add olive oil to a large skillet; add chicken; season with salt and pepper; saute for about 7 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through; stir; flip occasionally for even cooking.
While chicken is sautéing, cook pasta to al dente according to package directions in well salted boiling water about 11 minutes; drain; transfer to a large bowl.
Add cooked chicken to the pasta bowl; add lettuce and tomatoes; slowly add Caesar dressing (more can always be added but can't be removed, so add it slowly), balsamic vinegar and Parmesan cheese; toss well to combine and coat evenly.*
Taste, adding more salt, pepper, dressing, Parmesan, etc. as needed.
Serve immediately at room temperature or chill before serving.**
8 servings.
*If lettuce is added without first chilling everything else in the bowl, the lettuce will be more prone to wilting, which doesn't change the taste, but isn't as visually appealing. To prevent this, chill for 2-3 hours or as necessary. Whether it's chilled or not, the lettuce will still wilt in the refrigerator in the days after it's coated with dressing, which is why you might not want to bother chilling everything first, but you may wish to if you have time and plan ahead.
**Salad will look best in the first 12-24 hours of preparing it when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, but will taste fine for up to 5 days.