Ingredients
For the Vinaigrette: (makes 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup (120 ml) red wine vinegar
1 small shallot (1 ounce; 28 g), roughly chopped (about 1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons (30 ml) honey
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt use half as much by volume
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup (165 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
For the Salad:
4 small heads romaine lettuce (6 ounce; 170 g each), chopped (about 10 cups)
3 cups (1/2-inch cubed) poached chicken breasts, (about two 12 ounce; 340 g each)
6 ounces cherry tomatoes (1 cup; 170 g), halved
8 slices cooked bacon, roughly chopped (about 1 cup chopped)
1 large avocado (7 1/2 ounces; 213 g), chopped
3 hard-boiled eggs, quartered lengthwise into wedges
4 ounces (113 g) blue cheese, crumbled (1 cup crumbled)
Directions
In a blender, process red wine vinegar, shallot, Dijon, honey, salt, and pepper on high until smooth, about 20 seconds. With machine running, slowly add oil in a steady stream until emulsified, about 1 minute. Pour vinaigrette into a bowl; set aside.
In a large bowl, toss lettuce with 1/2 cup of prepared vinaigrette, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter.
In now-empty large bowl, toss chicken with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette until evenly coated.
Arrange dressed chicken over dressed lettuce. In now-empty bowl, toss cherry tomatoes and 2 tablespoons vinaigrette, and decoratively arrange over lettuce. Top salad with bacon, avocado, eggs, and blue cheese. Serve with remaining 1/2 cup vinaigrette for drizzling over top.
Special Equipment
Blender
Make-Ahead and Storage
The dressing can be made ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Briefly whisk or shake in a tightly sealed jar to recombine before using.
The lettuce, poached chicken, tomatoes, bacon, hard-boiled eggs, and blue cheese can all be prepared ahead and refrigerated in separate airtight containers for up to 2 days before assembling the salad.
NOTES: Laurie and I made this for a Core Team meeting. Easy. Fancy. Everyone can choose what they like.
The dressing emulsifies well and lasts a long time in the fridge.
