To make a Caesar salad at home is easy peasy, right? Yes, true. But to make the one and only, classical Ceasar salad dressing yourself, does need some attention. There are so many Caesar dressings you find in restaurants, pubs or cafés which are just not right. Today I share the recipe with you for world’s most famous salad with a homemade, perfect dressing.
I am a bit of a cheater, because the original recipe for a Caesar salad does only contain Romaine lettuce, Parmesan, bread croutons and the classical dressing. As you can see on the photo I added chicken, bacon and boiled eggs to my salad. These extra fillings are all optional, and for a traditional Caesar it would actually be too much filling. Maybe I find a real Caesar a bit boring? Also, I used brown bread instead of white bread, to make my garlic croutons. It doesn’t really matter. But I promise you; my recipe of the dressing – which is most important for the real ‘Caesar Taste’ – is traditional and correct. Furthermore you can play with fillings just as you like.
Ingredients (for four)
For the dressing
1 egg yolk
2-3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
ca. 125 ml vegetable oil
ca. 40 ml white wine vinegar
4 whole anchovies fillets
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1-2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcester sauce
4-5 teaspoons Parmesan cheese, grated
pinch of salt
good amount of freshly grounded black pepper
For the salad
1 Romaine lettuce, washed & leaves separated
4 slices of (old) white bread
1 clove of garlic, peeled and halved (for the bread croutons)
4 tablespoons of olive oil (for the bread croutons)
50-75 gram Parmesan cheese, shavings (a good amount of Parmesan cheese is essential for the original Caesar salad)
More filling (optional)
8 stripes of fried bacon, crispy
1 fillet of smoked chicken or fried/BBQ-ed chicken breast, sliced and sprinkled with salt and pepper
2-3 hard boiled eggs, sliced in four and sprinkled with sea salt
1 avocado, sliced and sprinkled with sea salt and Cayenne pepper
4-8 extra anchovies fillets (they belong only in the dressing but if you like anchovies, feel free to use more in the salad)
8-12 cherry tomatoes, halved
4-8 prawns, shortly pan fried in (garlic) olive oil on high fire, seasoned with some salt and pepper
Method
Dressing
Caesar dressing is actually a variety on a classic French mayonaise. Make sure all ingredients are room temperature before you start. Bash the garlic with the flat of a knife and peel off the skin.
Put the egg yolk together with all other ingredients, except the oil, in a little kitchen machine or blender and start on a slow speed. Just when you think the ingredients start to blend nicely and thicken a bit, add slowly, bit by bit, the oil, until the mixture is nice and creamy, and bonded a bit. Taste and season with a generous grind of black pepper, a bit salt, Worcester sauce, more anchovies or Parmesan if necessary, and (optional) cayenne pepper. Caesar dressing should have the consistency of yoghurt. If t’s too thick add a little bit water, if you find it too thin add a little bit yogurt or sour cream.
Refrigerate this dressing for a few hours (the taste just gets better!) before you use it on the salad. You can keep a dressing like this for about 3 days in the fridge.
*Of course you can make a Caesar with a hand whisker. Good for the muscles in your arm.
Salad
Bash the garlic with the flat of a knife and peel off the skin. Rub the bread with the garlic cloves and cut in small cubes. Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan and fry the bread croutons over medium heat until golden brown and crisp. Keep an eye on the bread, as it can burn easily.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and place on a place with kitchen paper which absorbs any excess oil.
Wash and dry the hears of Romaine lettuce. Leave them whole and divide the leaves. Place on plates, making nice little ‘beds’ of lettuce. Drizzle generously the dressing on the lettuce, sprinkle Parmesan cheese and croutons over the salad and that’s it!
*Optional: add bacon, boiled egg, chicken, prawns, tomatoes, anchovies fillets or avo to the salad.
Bon Appétit!
