Caesar Salad
What I enjoy about this rendition, besides being the BEST flavored Caesar I’ve
ever tasted, is that the dressing is assembled in advance, and actually tastes
better with a day or two in the fridge. At serving time, it just gets tossed
with the romaine, and then tossed again with top quality parmesan cheese, and
then croutons. Also, with my detailed measurements, it is easy to multiply out
the recipe as many times as desired. I’ve been known to make a Caesar for 8,
and use my spotlessly clean “Sink” to act as the salad bowl. By the way, for
my taste, this salad makes 3 very healthy portions, but most probably, serves 4
normal (whatever that means) adults.
For the dressing, just assemble all the ingredients into a jar.
2 large crushed cloves garlic
6 Tb. Safflower, or canola oil. I’ve used olive oil, and it is for some
reason, not as good. Go figure! By the way, I weigh out 2.8 oz. of oil,
instead of measuring.
3/4 tsp. Salt- sounds like a lot, but doesn’t taste it.
1/4 tsp. Dry mustard
1/4 tsp. Freshly ground black pepper
11/2 tsps. Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp. Cayenne pepper
2 Tb. Freshly squeezed lemon juice
a 2 oz. Tin of anchovy fillets that have been drained, rinsed under warm tap
water, patted dry, and then roughly chopped
1 coddled egg. And how I coddle the egg, is from a book I had 20 years ago:
Bring a 2-inch depth of water to boiling in a small saucepan. Turn off heat.
Carefully lower egg into water; let stand 1 minute; then lift out. Drain and
set aside to cool. Now for adding this egg to the rest of the dressing, what I
do is crack it open, and with a spoon, scrape every drop (even the runny
white), and using a wire whisk, whip it in a smallish bowl, until very frothy,
and totally blended.
At serving time, this dressing gets tossed with 1 large head of Romaine lettuce
that has been washed, torn into bite sized pieces, spun dry, and then left in
the fridge to crisp. And by the way, my definition of 1 large head of Romaine,
is 1 pound net weight of the leaves.
Then toss again, after sprinkling on 1/2 cup (2 oz.wt.) Reggiano Parmigiano.
This top quality cheese is crucial to the end result.
And finally, pour on some croutons, and toss again.
Just when you thought that this recipe was over, I’m also giving my crouton
recipe.
To 1/3 pound of dense baguette, cut into 1/2 inch pieces, add the following
combined ingredients, coating the cubes of bread well.
4 Tb. Melted butter
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tb. Reggiano Parmigiano
Evenly lay the coated bread cubes onto a foil lined jelly roll pan, about 10 x
15 inches. Bake in a preheated 275 degree oven for 30 minutes. Then turn off
the oven, and let the croutons stay in the oven for a couple of hours, at
least, to completely dry out. Use as many as desired for the salad.