Caesar Salad

Our Caesar Salad is thick, creamy and rich with a great balance of garlic to the other ingredients.  We substitute fish sauce for the traditional anchovy fillets; fish sauce is made from anchovies, is much easier to use and you don’t have an opened tin of anchovy fillets to deal with. We strongly recommend splurging on Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Romano cheeses, you will taste the difference using these quality cheeses.  While you can use store-bought prepared croutons, we don’t recommend it; most have a long list of ingredients, some of which don’t belong in any crouton and too much salt. Again, either seek out good quality croutons from a local bakery or make your own; our recipe for Delicious Homemade Croutons is provided below. This recipe for Caesar Salad serves four persons as an appetizer or first course.  If there will be just two persons dining, you may prepare the dressing and reserve the unused Caesar Salad dressing in a covered container in the refrigerator; it will hold fine for 2 to 3 days.  Caesar Salad makes a great appetizer prior to Miso Sherry Skirt Steak for a lovely dinner.

Prep Time: 30 minutes, Total Time: 40 minutes.  Serves 4.

Support Cook and Eat at Home. Purchase a PDF of the Caesar Salad recipe for $1.00.

Ingredients:

• 1 large Egg
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 2 Tbs Capers, drained
• 2 ½ Tbs fresh Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp ground Black Pepper
• ½ Tbs Red Wine Vinegar
• ½ Tb Worcestershire Sauce
• ½ tsp Dijon Mustard
• ½ Tb Fish Sauce*
• 7 Tbs grated combined Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Romano cheeses
• 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup Delicious Homemade Croutons, recipe below, or store-bought Croutons, per person
• 2 cups Romaine Lettuce leaves torn or cut into bite-size pieces per person

Preparation:

1. Place one large egg in a small bowl and allow it to come to room temperature.
2. Wash and clean Romaine lettuce leaves thoroughly to remove any soil or grit.
3. Drain the cleaned Romaine lettuce leaves thoroughly in a colander to remove excess water, then tear or cut the Romaine leaves into bite-size pieces and place them in a mixing bowl.
4. Peel and trim the garlic cloves and place them in an immersion blender container or food processor; we recommend using an immersion blender when preparing Caesar Salad dressing as it gives you more control over the consistency of the dressing.
5. If using capers are in brine, measure out portion needed, drain of excess brine and add to the immersion blender container. If using capers in just sea salt, rinse the portion needed in cold, running water before adding them to the immersion blender container.
6. Add lemon juice, black pepper, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard and fish sauce to the immersion blender container and blend briefly until ingredients combine into a rough puree.
7. Break the egg into a small bowl, check for any bits of shell, add it to the puree and blend again briefly, just 5 to 10 seconds; take care not to over-process at this step.
8. Reserving 1 tablespoon for the final assembly of the salad, add 6 tablespoons of the grated combined Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Romano cheeses and ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil to the container and blend well with the other ingredients; the consistency of the dressing should be getting thicker now.
9. Add the balance of the extra virgin olive oil gradually and continue to process the dressing until it has a thick consistency, like mayonnaise. You may need to add additional oil or you may not use all the oil required, depending upon the amount of liquid contributed by the other ingredients in the dressing.  Again, take care not to over-process or the dressing will be thin and watery.
10. Add croutons to the Romaine lettuce pieces in the mixing bowl.  Add the ½ cup of dressing, the reserved tablespoon of the grated combined Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Romano cheeses and a few turns of freshly ground black pepper to the bowl and mix together.  Serve the Caesar Salad immediately.

*Note:

• Fish Sauce is the clear, brown liquid given off by salted, fermented anchovies; it’s likely very similar to “garum” which accompanied all meals in ancient Rome. A little of it goes a long way and it makes a very convenient substitute for mashed anchovy fillets in recipes. Fish Sauce is ubiquitous in Thai and Vietnamese cuisines.  We recommend 3 Crabs brand; the flavor is perfectly authentic, not overly salty and it does not contain caramel or any other coloring agent.

Delicious Homemade Croutons

Crispy, flavorful Delicious Homemade Croutons are just that!  Very easy to prepare, Delicious Homemade Croutons are so good, you will never buy boxed croutons again.  You just may find yourself and others in your household snacking on Delicious Homemade Croutons; go ahead and enjoy, we will never tell anyone.

Preparation: 20 minutes, Baking Time: 15 minutes.  Yields approximately 8 cups.

Ingredients:

• 3 freshly baked Rolls; we recommend telera or bolillo rolls, but any roll or bread with a semi-hard crust and fluffy interior will work well.
• 2 Tbs salt-free Italian Herb Seasoning*
• ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Preparation:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 F.
2. Slice the rolls into bite-size pieces, no larger than 1” by 1”, and place in a large mixing bowl.
3. Sprinkle the Italian Seasoning over the sliced pieces of rolls.
4. Pour the extra virgin olive oil over the Italian seasoning and pieces of rolls and mix together.
5. Spoon the seasoned pieces of rolls onto a large baking sheet, or multiple smaller baking sheets, as necessary, in a single layer.
6. Place the baking sheet(s) in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 15 minutes, turning once midway through.
7. Remove the baking sheet(s) and baked croutons from the oven and cool down to room temperature.
8. Use the Delicious Homemade Croutons in a Caesar Salad or in any recipe requiring croutons. Store unused Delicious Homemade Croutons in an airtight container, unrefrigerated, and consume within two weeks for maximum flavor.

*Note:

• Italian Herb Seasoning is a mix of assorted dried herbs associated with Italian cooking, usually it contains basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, parsley and sage.  Readily available at supermarkets and the big-box grocery stores, it’s often organic too; make sure that it is salt-free.  Alternatively, you can make your own by combining those dried herbs.