The World Recipes

While the basic parts of a chicken Caesar salad are healthy the usual add-ons, bacon, croutons and high fat dressing can turn it into a less than good choice for the health conscious. This pepper-crusted chicken salad with roasted garlic Caesar dressing keeps the whole salad both healthy and delicious. (AP Photo/Larry Crowe)

If your idea of a virtuous dinner out is ordering the grilled chicken Caesar salad, you should prepare yourself for some disappointment.

These salads may sound light, but they can pack some serious fat and calories. At one national chain restaurant, for example, the grilled chicken Caesar salad serves up more than 1,000 calories and 64 grams of fat.

These salads sound healthy because the basic components are — greens and boneless, skinless chicken breast. It’s when you dump on buttery croutons, shredded cheese, fatty dressings and crumbled bacon that the trouble starts.

But at home you can make a dinner-sized salad to feel good about. This grilled chicken salad is tossed with a low-fat dressing made with the richly flavored pulp of roasted garlic (an excellent stand-in for fat).

For this dressing, which can be made up to two days in advance and stored, covered, in the refrigerator, the roasted garlic is pureed with creamy nonfat yogurt and just a few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil.

The dressing gets an added burst of flavor from a small amount of Parmesan cheese as well as a few anchovy fillets, which are traditional Caesar ingredients.

And don’t fear the anchovies. They add an irreplaceable flavor and texture to the dressing without adding any noticeable fishiness.

(more…)