Poached Chicken Salad with Garlic Anchovy Dressing

I love it when a recipe comes together so simply, and that’s exactly what happened with this amazing Poached Chicken Salad with Garlic Anchovy Dressing. The concept for this recipe is grounded in a classic Chicken Caesar Salad, with crispy Lettuce, Parmesan Cheese, Croutons, and a creamy dressing. However instead of using Ranch or a Mayo based dressing for the salad this recipe utilizes the wonderful combination of Greek Yoghurt, Garlic, and White Anchovies. The flavor is immense, and pairs perfectly with beautifully poached Chicken

Poaching Chicken is the best way to cook it for a Salad

Let’s kick off this recipe by starting with the Chicken. It’ll take the longest to prepare, so naturally it’s a good place to start! The Chicken is served cold for this dish, and I think one of the best ways to prepare cold Chicken is poaching it. By slowly cooking the Chicken in a brine flavored with aromatics, you can achieve a wonderfully tender Chicken Breast while also infusing it with delicious flavors

To poach the Chicken, fill a large pot of Dutch oven with Water about halfway up. Really, just fill it enough so that the Chicken will be completely submerged. Add Black Peppercorns, the Peel of about 1 Lemon, some whole Garlic Cloves, and a generous amount of Salt. Bring that to the boil and then remove it from the heat

Add the Chicken to the pot, cover it with a lid and leave it for about 30 – 40 minutes (the time will vary depending on the size of the Chicken). The residual heat we’ve created in the pot will slowly poach the Chicken, leaving it beautifully tender and rich in flavor once cooked

The Chicken will need to be served cold, so I recommend making it in advance. Once poached and completely cooked (internal temperature of 160F) remove it from the liquid and set it aside to cool. I like to prepare the Chicken a few hours beforehand, but you can also serve it warm and prepare the Salad while the Chicken is cooking

The star of the show is an amazing Garlic Anchovy Dressing

White Anchovies are one of the most underutilized ingredients in home cooking in our opinion. Rich in a delicious briny, salty flavor, they’re the perfect seasoning for Salads. Even if you’re not a fan of Anchovies, I highly recommend you give this dressing a try

To make the dressing, begin by finely dicing some Garlic and Anchovies with a large, sharp knife. Once you’ve got it up as much as you can, use the side of the knife and scrape the diced ingredients over the cutting board to form a paste-like texture

Scoop up all the paste and transfer it to a bowl where we then add Greek Yoghurt, Lemon Juice, Lemon Zest, and some seasoning. The Greek Yoghurt is a wonderful and healthy alternative to using Ranch Dressing or even Mayo, and really bring this Poached Chicken Salad with Garlic Anchovy Dressing to life

With the Chicken cooked and Dressing complete, it’s time for the Salad ingredients

The tricky components (if you really can even call them that) are now done, so the final step is amassing the Salad ingredients that you’ll mix together with the Dressing. We’ve opted for a Caesar Salad-esque list of ingredients, with Romaine Lettuce and Parmesan Cheese

We also add freshly sliced Green Apple (for some sharpness) and Red Onion. So, some traditional Caesar Salad ingredients but also some different ingredients in the Apple and Red Onion that bring a delicious depth of flavor to the dish

I like using Romaine Lettuce for our Poached Chicken Salad with Garlic Anchovy Dressing as it’s sturdiness holds up well to the dressing. It’ll remain super-crunchy, offering up a lovely texture and flavor to pair with the Chicken

You can either dice up the Chicken into bite-size pieces and mix it into the Salad before serving. Alternatively, you can slice the Chicken separately and place it on top of individually plated bowls. We opted for the latter, mainly for the photos! It’s not going to change the taste, so plate however you like

Garnishing the Salad

The final step in the dish is adding some Garnishes. We’ve opted for some crunchy Croutons and a few whole White Anchovies. If you’re an Anchovy fan like us, you’re going to want to add more Anchovies! They’re so good in this Salad!

For added flavor, try adding a touch of that beautiful Olive Oil the White Anchovies are typically packaged in. Not too much, but a little will help the flavors develop even further in the dish

Make your own Croutons

I love to make my own Croutons! You can batch cook a bunch of them and store them in a Ziploc bag. They’ll keep for a few weeks, allowing you to use them as a garnish for Salads and Soups. All you need to do is cut up a few slices of Bread (we just used regular White Bread) and scatter them over a sheet pan

Drizzle the Bread pieces generously with Olive Oil and season with Salt. If you’ve got some herbs lying around, try adding them to the pan as well (Rosemary or Thyme work great!) Roast them for about 10 minutes in the oven at 360F until they start to turn golden-brown and they’re all done

We’ve got an amazing recipe here for how to make your own Croutons. You can prepare them while your Chicken is poaching. They make an amazing topping to this delicious Salad

Poached Chicken Salad with Garlic Anchovy Dressing Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 Chicken Breasts
• 1 tbsp. Black Peppercorns
• 1 tbsp. Salt
• 4 Garlic Cloves
• Peel of 1 Lemon
  
  

Dressing Ingredients

• ½ cup Greek Yoghurt
• 3 White Anchovies
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• Juice of ½ a Lemon
• Zest of ½ a Lemon
• Salt to taste
  
  

Salad Ingredients

• 4 cups of Romaine Lettuce, roughly chopped
• 1 Green, Apple, finely sliced
• ½ Red Onion, finely sliced
• ¼ cup of Parmesan Cheese, sliced using a vegetable peeler
• 1 cup of Croutons
• 8 White Anchovies (optional)
  
  

Instructions

1. Fill a large pot or Dutch Oven with Water about halfway up then add Black Peppercorns, Salt, Garlic, and Lemon Zest and bring to a boil
2. Add the Chicken then cover and remove from the heat. Leave covered for 30 – 40 minutes to poach until the internal temperature of the Chicken is 160F. Remove Chicken and set aside to cool
3. Prepare the dressing by finely dicing the Garlic and Anchovies on a cutting board then using the side of a large knife to press it into a rough paste
4. Combine the Garlic and Anchovy Paste with the remaining Dressing Ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary
   
   

Preparing the Salad

5. Combine the Romaine Lettuce, Apple, Red Onion, and Parmesan Cheese in a large salad bowl. Add about half the dressing and mix well. You can add a bit more Dressing if you need (serve the rest on the side)
6. Plate individual bowls of the Salad. Slice the Chicken into strips or bite-sized Chunks and lay over the top of the Salad. Garnish with Croutons and (optional) additional White Anchovies and serve
   
   

Recipe Notes

• You can make your own Croutons easily by using this recipe
• Slice the Parmesan Cheese block using a vegetable peeler to create beautiful strips of Cheese as a garnish
  
  

Our amazing Chicken Salad with Garlic Anchovy Dressing is a fun and healthy way to serve a classic Chicken Salad meal at home. The Greek Yoghurt and Anchovy based dressing is a wonderfully light and healthy alternative to Mayo or Ranch-based dressing. Paired with the Poached Chicken, it’s all around a tasty and healthy family meal

For more tasty, healthy recipes, check out these delicious recipes of ours:

• Roast Beef Arugula Salad
• Poached Shrimp Baguette Rolls
• French Lentil Salad with Roast Vegetables
• Tomato Mint and Couscous Salad
  
  

Happy Cooking!