Chicken & Bacon Salad Recipe

Preheat your oven to 230°C (Gas Mark 8). Put the bacon on a baking sheet, then cook in the hot oven for about 15 minutes, or until the bacon has started to crisp up. Put the cooked bacon in a dish to cool while you get on with the chicken. Place a large, shallow pan – for which you have a lid - over a medium-high heat and add a good drizzle (about two tablespoons) of sunflower oil. Wait for the oil to become hot, then add the chicken. Cook the chicken for 5 minutes until nicely browned, then remove the pan from the heat, put on the lid to keep it warm and set aside.

Take the baking sheet you used to cook the bacon and scatter the torn chunks of bread over it. Drizzle them with olive oil, then add a good pinch of salt and a good few turns of the pepper mill. Toss the bread briefly in the oil, then put the tray into the hot oven for about 5 minutes, or until the bread is just turning golden and crunchy. Remove the tray and tip the bread on to kitchen paper to drain. Chop the cooled bacon into bite-sized pieces.

Next, roughly chop the capers and the tarragon leaves, then put them into a serving bowl or dish, together with the white wine vinegar, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and 4 tbsp of olive oil. Season well and stir everything together to make a dressing. Add the shredded lettuce leaves to the serving bowl, then pile in the cooked chicken, croutons and half of the chopped bacon, mixing carefully together so that everything is lightly coated in the dressing. Sprinkle the remaining pieces of bacon over the top of the salad, and serve.