Caesar Salad

I’m not going to wax poetic about the inherent beauty of a leaf of romaine lettuce or tell you a romantic story involving garlic and anchovies. But that doesn’t make Caesar Salad any less special. All I can say about it is that it’s something we in my family always crave—we could eat it every day and never tire of it.

Please try this recipe. It’s simple and delicious, and the dressing in the plastic bottle bears absolutely no resemblance to the real thing.

Caesar Salad
Printable Recipe

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, grated
2 anchovy fillets, minced
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 hearts romaine lettuce, leaves separated
2 handfuls Craveable Croutons
1 ounce (about ¼ cup) shaved Parmegiano-Reggiano

Whisk together the lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire, garlic, and anchovies in a small bowl. Continue whisking while adding the oil in a thin stream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss together the lettuce, croutons, and dressing in a large bowl. Arrange the salad on individual plates, divide the Parmegiano among them, top with a generous grinding of pepper, and serve immediately.

Serves 4 as a first course or 2 as a main course. If you like a creamy dressing, whisk an egg yolk into the dressing before adding the olive oil. As much as I love eggs, I usually leave the egg out of my Caesar Salad dressing; I like to make a large batch of the dressing and keep it in the refrigerator for use at a moment’s notice, and it keeps better without the egg. Use good quality anchovies—the ones that come in a glass jar are preferable to the ones from a tin. Some people prefer to cut the romaine into bite-size pieces. To shave Parmegiano, use a vegetable peeler. Of course this salad is good topped with grilled chicken, shrimp, or steak, but you should really try it with Pan-Fried Razor Clams.