Caesar Salad Parmesan Cups

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)

Step 2

To make the dressing, place all of the above dressing ingredients in a blender or hand held mixer and blend until well combined. Pour into a bowl and store in the fridge until ready to use (this can be made a few hours ahead)

Step 3

Although its a bit more time consuming, I recommend making the parmesan cups in batches of 2-3 at a time as you have to work quickly with them when they come out of the oven

Step 4

To make the cups, place 2 tbsp sized mounds of grated parmesan on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Make sure that the mounds are at least 2 inches apart. Flatten the parmesan mounds out to form circles approximately 3 inches wide in size.

Step 5

Place the baking tray in the oven and bake for 5 minutes until parmesan begins to bubble and turn golden in colour

Step 6

Remove from the oven and working quickly, peel each circle off of the tray and press into a muffin tin to form cups. Use a spoon to flatten the bottom of the cups and ensure all of the corners are pressed in.

Step 7

If the parmesan circles begin to harden and become difficult to shape return them to the tray and place back in the oven for another 30 seconds or so to make them soft and more pliable.

Step 8

Repeat with the remainder of the parmesan. This should make approximately 8-10 parmesan cups

Step 9

While each batch of parmesan is cooking in the oven, you can multi task by cooking the diced pancetta and chicken. For the chicken I like to cook it in a pan with a bit of oil, garlic and dried Italian herbs but feel free to cook however you choose. Once chicken is cooked cut into small bite sized pieces

Step 10

Try not to assemble the dish until right before serving to ensure the parmesan cups don't lose their crispness from the salad dressing.

Step 11

In a bowl toss the lettuce with the dressing, chicken and pancetta pieces (you may not need to use all of the dressing). Fill each cup with the salad. Enjoy!