Caesar’s Salad Recipe. Caesar’s Dressing
Caesar’s Salad
That’s one simple salad that never goes out of fashion! If caesar’s salad was eclipsed by a new salad on the block, however briefly, I missed that!
Casesar’s Salad: Queen or King?
The queen of salads, albeit with a king’s name
What is the secret of its enduring popularity? In my opinion, a Caesar’s salad with a short but unbeatable classic ingredient lineup will be….unbeatable.
The secret is: Only the best!
Crisp romaine, homemade croutons made from good-quality bread, freshly grated Parmesan—all totally attainable! Make a double batch of the dressing and enjoy it with many other goodies. And if you can’t have the cheese, the salad will be good to go even sans fromage!
Caesar’s Dressing
Caesar’s Dressing is much too good to use only on Caesar’s salad
So go ahead and use it on grilled fish, or skip the anchovies in the dressing and use it on poached or grilled chicken.
There’s no Caesar’s Salad without Caesar’s Dressing!
In Caesar’s Dressing, anchovies are blended and do their unseen magic. I can’t remember who wrote about Anchovies that they are “A blessing if disguised”. No wonder Caesar’s dressing is as popular: unseen anchovies won’t make anyone squeamish! Is it the anchovies’ fault if they are so homely? They are one of the best foods you could possibly eat, so go ahead and camouflage them in dressings, in pasta, on pizza, in dips, and watch your anchovy-based treats disappear. Ah! the wonderful world of Umami!
Sharing some of my umami secrets. Don’t run out of these wonderful ingredients: you can use them in so many dishes!
You will not need to use the whole dressing recipe for one batch of Caesar’s salad. One cup is all you need to dress the salad. That’s all right, use what you need and keep the rest refrigerated.
Caesar’s Salad Sans Cheese?
No problem! If you go this route and make it a main course, use sliced grilled chicken breast, and no cheese. And no anchovies in the dressing. Likewise, you can use the dressing (again, with no anchovies) for chicken salad
Ingredients
Caesar’s Salad
- 6–8 slices good-quality bread, gluten-free OK, cut in ½ inch cubes
- 3 romaine hearts, torn into bite-size pieces
- ½ small purple onion, sliced very thin (food processor)
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan, a little more to taste
- 1 cup Caesar's dressing
Caesar’s Dressing
- 6 anchovies, rinsed (or 1-2 tablespoons Anchovy paste)
- 3 tablespoons capers
- ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley, stems and leaves
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 4-6 large cloves garlic
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup wine vinegar
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- Ground pepper to taste
- Do not add salt: the anchovies and the capers are salty enough to season the whole dressing
Instructions
Make the salad
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Make the croutons: Place the bread cubes in one layer in a baking sheet, and toast until light brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Reserve.
Place the romaine, onion, and cheese on a platter. Just before serving, add the croutons. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss.
Make the dressing
Place all the dressing ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth, about half a minute. If the dressing gets too thick as it sits, thin it with a little more water. Makes about 2 cups. Store refrigerated in a glass jar.
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