Caesar salad is one of those recipes that lives or dies on balance: crisp lettuce, a bold and savory dressing, warm chicken, and croutons that keep the whole thing from tasting flat. The original version, created by restaurateur Caesar Cardini, didn’t actually include chicken, but the chicken Caesar is now the version most people know and reach for.

The secret to a good Caesar is the dressing built on egg yolk, mustard, and lemon juice, which needs to be thick enough to cling to the lettuce without turning into something closer to mayonnaise. Anchovies are optional, but they’re what gives the dressing its distinctive savory depth — leave them out and you get something decent; leave them in and it tastes like the real thing.

Romaine is the right lettuce for this salad — its sturdy, slightly bitter leaves hold up to the dressing and stay crunchy, unlike more delicate greens that wilt quickly. Sear the chicken over fairly high heat until it’s well browned, then let it rest for a few minutes before slicing so the juices stay in the meat instead of pooling on the cutting board.

Caesar salad is best served right after it’s tossed, while the leaves are still crisp and the croutons haven’t gone soft. It works equally well as a full lunch or a light dinner, and it’s easy to make more substantial with a halved soft-boiled egg or a few slices of avocado on top.