Caesar Salad With A Interesting Dressing Variation

We eat a main dish salad about once every other week or so and I rarely post about it because I just throw things in and don't measure, so it's hard to write out a recipe. This time I'm posting because this salad is a variation of a recipe I found in the newspaper and because the dressing starts with mayo instead of a traditional raw egg. Being used to substitutions, I used garlic aioli instead of mayo and left out the garlic in the recipe. I also increased the lemon juice because it seemed too creamy with not enough bite, plus I left out the Parm since I can't do cheese. The resulting salad was great! Sweetie really liked the croutons, too.

 Crisp romaine lettuce and sourdough croutons, a nice assertive dressing just coating the leaves, croutons and sliced baby cucumber lightly, then, after serving it up on plates, the salads were topped with sliced ripe avocado and chunks of freshly grilled chicken thighs. Creamy, savory, crisp, soft, hot, cold...lovely contrasts and a filling but light salad...and quick to make. Try it!

Easy Chicken Caesar Salad
A variation of Cheater Chicken Caesar Salad from Parade.com

2 slices sourdough bread, crusts trimmed off
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons prepared roasted garlic aioli (I used Stonewall Kitchens brand)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
juice of 1 lemon
more salt and pepper to taste
1 head romaine lettuce, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
1 small cucumber (I used Persian), rinsed, ends removed, and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
2 cups chunks cooked chicken, preferably freshly grilled 
1-2 avocados, peeled, seeded, and sliced
2-4 tablespoons sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Tear the 2 slices of bread into bite sized pieces and toss in a large bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Keep the bowl. Spread bread pieces in a single layer on a sheet pan and bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, until toasted. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in reserved bowl, whisk the olive oil, aioli, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon and salt and pepper to taste to make a dressing. Add the lettuce and cucumber to the dressing and toss to coat. Divide among 4 plates or wide, shallow bowls. Top with the chicken chunks, avocado, almonds and croutons. Serve at once.