By Lisa Fielding of Secret Ingredients
Caesar salad has always been the motherlode of salads for me. And according to those in the know, it was invented in Mexico — but not by a Mexican. Legend has it that Italian-American restaurateur Caesar Cardini invented the Caesar salad in 1924 in Tijuana, where he owned a restaurant in the tourist district.
Here’s where the story goes a little sideways for me. He invented the salad to attract Americans frustrated by Prohibition. Come for the salad, stay for the tequila?
At any rate, if Mr. Cardini did in fact come up with the sharp and creamy dressing with notes of garlic, briny anchovy and acid, he was a genius. And I think if he tried mine, he might agree that I’ve improved on the original recipe that calls for red wine vinegar but which I’ve replaced with fresh lemon juice. The difference is not subtle. The lemon is the perfect complement to garlic and anchovy.
One day at lunch, a friend was extolling my talents as a chef and she brought up my Caesar salad. She said — and I quote — “the dressing is so good you want to pour it in a cup and drink it.” I might not go that far, but I’ve been known to dip one homemade crouton after another into its depths and eat it like a snack. That’s another component to making the ultimate Caesar… you have to make your own croutons. No ifs, ands or buts. But you don’t have to go crazy; a good quality baguette cut into dice-sized cubes, slathered in olive oil, tossed with kosher salt and baked for 15 minutes in a 400-degree oven will yield beautifully crisped and golden croutons.
There are a few other do’s and don’ts. Do cut your hearts of romaine into ribbons and discard the leafy ends which will become soggy when dressed. Give the lettuces a good washing and chill them in the refrigerator for at least a few hours before serving. The lettuces need to be crisp and cold. Don’t even think about omitting anchovies. Caesar dressing is made with anchovies. Period. If you don’t like anchovies, make the dressing without it but don’t call it a Caesar. Mix your dressing in a food processor so everything is completely emulsified almost to the point of resembling a thinner aioli. Nothing is worse than a runny dressing. And, to make a real meal out of your salad, grill your favorite protein, slice and serve on top of the greens. We love it with grilled salmon and a little crispy salmon skin.
Lisa Fielding’s Caesar Salad
Yields 1½ cups dressing; serves 8
6 heads of romaine, cut into ribbons (leafy ends discarded), rinsed, dried and chilled.
1 baguette cut into dice-size cubes, dredged in olive oil, salted and baked on a parchment-lined cookie sheet at 400 degrees until crispy and golden (12-15 minutes).
3 large cloves garlic, skinned
1 heaping tbl. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. dry mustard
2 egg yolks
1 tbl. Worcestershire sauce
1 tin anchovies rinsed under cold water, patted dry
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of one lemon
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse garlic until minced. Add anchovies and pulse until a paste has formed. Add Dijon, dry mustard, egg yolks and Worcestershire and pulse until incorporated. Add half the lemon juice. Pulse. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a steady stream to the bowl. The dressing will emulsify quickly and start to thicken. Taste for tartness. If you like it more lemony, add more of the lemon juice until you reach the desired effect. Pulse once or twice when adding lemon juice; you don’t want to break the dressing down after it’s emulsified.
Remove from food processor into a bowl. Add half the grated Parmesan cheese, salt and ground pepper to taste. Gently stir with a spatula.
Assembly:
In a large salad bowl, add half the lettuces and cover with half the dressing. Toss gently. Add the remainder of the lettuces and the rest of the dressing plus the croutons (as many or few as you like). Toss again. Now add the rest of the Parmesan cheese and, if you’re a big cheese fan, grate some extra and put it on the table. I don’t like to overwhelm the lettuces with cheese. Plate and serve as-is or add grilled chicken, shrimp, salmon or even steak.
Rural Intelligence needs your help. Unlike other websites, we haven’t put up a paywall, but the expenses involved in publishing RI can’t be met by advertising alone. We are asking readers to step up to the plate so we can continue to cover the people, places and events that make our region so special. We need 1,500 readers to contribute or we will cease publishing at the end of March. Please click here to become a supporter now.
