Caesar salad with crispy cheese instead of croutons

Short answer: replace the croutons in a Caesar with crispy dried cheese bites, and the salad becomes free of flour and oil, with twice the protein, while the crunch stays. Primaggio works as both Parmesan and croutons; Cheddar gives a richer flavour. Time: 15 minutes, servings: 2.

Ingredients for 2 servings

• Romaine lettuce — 1 head (or iceberg, 200 g)
• Chicken fillet — 250 g (or 200 g shrimp)
• snEco dried cheese Primaggio — 1 pack of 28 g (instead of croutons and Parmesan)
• Quail eggs — 6 pcs (or 2 chicken eggs, soft-boiled)
• Cherry tomatoes — 8 pcs
• For the dressing: 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 60 ml olive oil, 2 anchovy fillets (or 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce), 1 garlic clove, 1 tbsp grated dried cheese, salt, pepper

Preparation

1. Dressing. Mash the anchovies with the garlic, add the yolk, mustard and lemon juice. Pour in the oil in a thin stream while whisking until it is as thick as sour cream. Stir in a tablespoon of Primaggio bites crushed in a mortar: they replace grated Parmesan and thicken the dressing a little. Salt carefully: the cheese is already salty.
2. Chicken. Season the fillet with salt and pepper, grill or pan-fry for 4–5 minutes on each side, let it rest for 5 minutes and slice.
3. Salad. Tear the leaves by hand, arrange them on a plate, pour over half of the dressing and toss.
4. Assembly. On top: the chicken, halved eggs, cherry tomatoes. Drizzle over the rest of the dressing.
5. Crispy cheese goes on at the very last moment. Scatter the Primaggio bites straight from the pack just before serving. If you add them earlier, they will soak up the dressing and go soft.

Why it works

Classic Caesar croutons are white bread fried in oil: crunch plus an extra 150–200 kcal of carbs per serving. Dried cheese bites give the same crunch, but they are cheese: 15 g of protein per pack, less than 0.5 g of carbs, no gluten-containing ingredients. And Primaggio is an aged, salty Parmesan-style cheese, so it replaces both the croutons and the grated cheese on top. One pack for two servings.

Variations

• With Cheddar — richer, the “American” version; best with bacon.
• With smoked Sulguni — instead of bacon: a smoky flavour without meat.
• Vegetarian — no chicken or anchovies, a dressing based on Worcestershire sauce or capers, the cheese provides the protein.
• Keto — without cherry tomatoes (or 3–4 of them), more leaves and cheese: ≈4 g of carbs per serving.

More ideas with crispy cheese

Topping for cream soup: three recipes; a Greek salad with crispy olives and mozzarella; pasta with crispy Primaggio instead of grated Parmesan. A general guide: what to eat cheese snacks with.

Questions and answers

What can replace croutons in a Caesar salad?

Crispy dried cheese bites: the same crunch without flour or oil, plus 15 g of protein per pack.

When should I add dried cheese to a salad?

At the very last moment before serving, otherwise the bites will soak up the dressing and go soft.

Which dried cheese is best in a Caesar salad?

Primaggio: an aged, salty Parmesan-style cheese that replaces both the croutons and the grated cheese.

What to try

Dried snEco Cheese “Primaggio”, 28 g €3.30 Dried snEco Cheese “Cheddar”, 28 g €3.30 Dried snEco Cheese “Sulguni”, 28 g €3.13

Author: Vadym Gryshyn, co-founder of snEco