Caesar Salad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Caesar salad is a salad made with romaine lettuce and croutons and dressed with a Caesar salad dressing and shaved Parmesan cheese. It is one of the most popular salads and every lover has his or her own recipe for it. This salad is crisp and refreshing and makes an excellent first course or a meal with some grilled chicken.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS

For Salad:

(1) 2 Heads, Romaine Lettuce Hearts

(2) Croutons

(3) Parmesan Twirl (Optional)

For Caesar Dressing:

(1) 1/2 Cup Mayonnaise. Recipe here

(2) 2 Anchovies

(3) 1/2 Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

(4) 1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice

(5) 1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

(6) 1 Clove Garlic (Grated)

(7) Salt and Pepper to Taste

PROCEDURE:

For Lettuce:

Romaine lettuce is what is traditionally used for Caesar salads. For a very crispy salad, you need the heart of the lettuce which is the inner leaves. Luckily, these are sold in stores.

(1) Cut the lettuce hearts into large chunks, wash and soak in water for about 15 minutes. The lettuce will absorb some water through osmosis and this will make them juicy and crunchy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2) Drain water and dry lettuce thoroughly. Place in salad bowl.

For Croutons:

This adds some crunch to the salad and can be bought or made at home. You will need some stale bread (at least 1 day old) to do this.

(1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

(2) Take slices of bread and trim off the edges. Cut bread into squares.

(2) Season bread with some salt and garlic powder (optional)

(3) Melt 1 -2 Tablespoons of butter and pour over bread. Mix bread with spices and melted butter and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Turn once in the middle of baking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For Parmesan Twirl:

This is optional, but I love the taste and texture it adds to the salad.

(1) Grate about 1/2 Cup of Parmesan cheese.

(2) Place grated cheese in a circle in a non stick frying pan and cook on medium heat for about 4 minutes or until all the cheese has melted and turned a bit brown. The grated cheese should be placed in a thin layer for best results.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3) Peel melted cheese from pan and place on serving plate.

For Caesar Dressing:

The dressing makes use of anchovies which is a type of fish often sold in a salty brine. This is a very important ingredient in Caesar salad dressing and should not be skipped. Don’t worry, it wont make the dressing taste fishy. Anchovies are very salty, so be careful not to over-salt the dressing when making it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1) Place mayonnaise in a mini food processor or blender. You can use store bought mayonnaise. But for the best quality, use homemade mayonnaise. The recipe can be found here.

(2) Place all the ingredients in the food processor or blender and process till a thick paste forms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make Salad

Now that all the components of the salad have been made, you are now ready to make your salad. This might look like a lot of work for such a simple salad, but this is not the case. Each stage is very easy and takes no time at all. In addition, most stages can can done at the same time.

(1) Place romaine lettuce in salad bowl and pour a generous amount of the Caesar dressing over lettuce. Toss to  coat lettuce evenly.

(2) Place coated lettuce in serving dish with Parmesan twirl.

(3) Top lettuce with some croutons and shaved Parmesan.

Enjoy your fresh crispy Caesar salad.