Whether you're sending kids back to school in a few days, looking for something different to lunch on at your office computer, or yeah baby, a sandwich that will be the hit of your next tailgate party -- this sub has got your back. It's on my short-list of most-popular in-my-house-made deli-style hoagie- submarine-type sandwiches. It's extremely easy-to-make and user-friendly too. Chop and toss the ingredients together in a bowl, stuff 'em into a sub roll just before eating, then go to town. It's akin to feasting on a tuna sub, only full of classic Caesar salad flavors and textures.
The concept of a Caesar salad sub is hardly a new one, but, I'm here to tell you, if you've been wasting time layering lettuce leaves, shaving parmesan and placing thin slices of chicken on a roll with a drizzle of dressing (all are musts when making a chicken Caesar salad panini), it's time to rethink it. Chopped ingredients are easier to eat, and, because each and every bite-sized piece is enrobed in a light coating of creamy Caesar dressing, the end result tastes amazingly better. The (obvious) key, however, is to load the salad concoction with chicken (lots and lots of chopped chicken) -- because, after all, this is a sandwich, not a salad. That said, if you're not planning on eating these sandwiches within a few hours of making them, don't add the lettuce until the last moment, because it will get a bit wilty (but it'll still be delicious though).
The key is to load the salad w/lots & lots of chopped chicken -- because, after all, this is a sandwich, not a salad.
For two sandwiches:
1 3/4-2 cups, chopped or pulled into bite-sized pieces, grilled, chicken tenderloins or thighs
1-1 1/2 cups "chiffonade" ("thin strips"/"little ribbons") of romaine lettuce leaves
1 diced hard-cooked egg
1/2 cup small-diced tomato
1/4 cup small-diced red onion
2 tablespoons finely-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
6-8 tablespoons creamy Caesar dressing, preferably homemade or high-quality store-bought
2 6-6 1/2" high-quality submarine- hoagie- type rolls, the best available
~Step 1. Prep and place the chicken, lettuce, egg, tomato and red onion in a medium bowl. Using a large rubber spatula, toss to combine. Add the cheese and toss again, to incorporate cheese throughout the mixture. Gently fold in the dressing, 4 tablespoons at first, 2 more after that, and, the last two if you think you need it. Using your fingertips, pull/remove a bit of the soft bread from the center of each half of the sliced roll, to create a cavity for stuffing as much Caesar filling into the sub sandwich as it can handle.
Stuff a roll w/as much chicken Caesar as it can handle & eat:
Brownbag it with Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad Subs: Recipe yields 2 light but filling sandwiches.
Special Equipment List: cutting board; chef's knife; large rubber spatula; serrated bread knife
Cook's Note: Over the past three decades, the Caesar salad, #1) became America's most popular main-dish salad, #2) altered the lettuce industry as demand for romaine has skyrocketed, and, #3) turned the chicken-topped Caesar into the chicken item most frequently found on restaurant menus -- more than wings and chicken fingers. Now considered the All-American salad, it was invented in Mexico in 1924 by an Italian-born Mexican immigrant, Caesar Cardini (a co-owner in a Tijuana restaurant). Making a classic Caesar salad requires a some technique. I learned from some experts, then, took what they taught me to create my own ~ Hail Caesar: Roasted Chicken Salad a la Melanie ~.
"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti
(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2019)
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