Monday, July 26, 2010

July Tweetcipe - Caesar with no Toga

Seeing Caesar salad on a restaurant menu is almost as common as table salt. More than likely the venerable salad choice is listed on the menu of your favorite place to eat. It’s so common, in fact, that most of you have probably formed definite opinions as to what is a worthy Caesar salad.

As for me, I’ve occasionally been served a Caesar salad dressing that had mayonnaise in it…and that’s just wrong. I have never tasted a more perfect Caesar dressing than the one I came across in a tiny little paperback cookbook called “Cooking in the Nude-For Men Only”. What can I say, I’m a rule breaker. It’s a great cookbook, by the way. The original recipe entitled Caesar and Please Her calls for a lightly coddled egg. I just don’t think it’s a crucial ingredient and it’s an extra step I don’t mind skipping.

Here’s the otherwise barely changed recipe that I like to make at home and for clients:

1 small garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
½ Tablespoon anchovy paste
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 lemon, juiced
1 head of romaine lettuce, sliced or torn into bite sized pieces
½ cup good quality parmesan cheese, grated
Salt/pepper to taste
Shaved slivers of parmesan
Croutons (homemade, if you have the time)

Whisk together the first six ingredients in a salad bowl. Add lettuce and grated cheese. Fold carefully to mix. Taste for seasoning with salt and pepper. Top with shaved parmesan and croutons.

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