Simple Caesar Salad
By: Sheree Young
Published: Thursday, December 10, 2009 - 7:50am

Ingredients




1 loaf Italian bread
1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
4 cloves garlic, divided
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper, to taste

3 anchovy fillets
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 hard-boiled egg, chopped
3 inches romaine lettuce hearts, cut  2-inch pieces
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preparation

1 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 2 To make the croutons, cut the crust off the bread and cut the loaf into cubes. 3 Place the cubes in a large mixing bowl. 4 In a small pan over medium heat, add the oil, 1 clove of minced garlic, and oregano. 5 Cook for two minutes, giving the pan a shake often. 6 Pour the flavored oil over the bread cubes and toss. 7 Season with salt and pepper. 8 Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. 9 In a blender, add the lemon juice, remaining garlic cloves, anchovy fillets, mustard, lemon, vinegar, Worcestershire, hard-boiled egg, salt, and pepper. 10 Process until garlic is well minced and a paste forms. 11 With the blender still running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Taste for seasonings. 12 Put the lettuce in a large bowl. 13 Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss. 14 Add the cheese and croutons and toss well. 15 Season with more black pepper to taste. 16 Serve immediately, topping with the rest of the anchovies, if you like.

About


If you like Caesar Salad, you’ve probably tried all kinds. Some are very simple, and others are more like a tossed salad with Caesar dressing. Some are topped with grilled salmon and others with chicken tenders. The strangest Caesar Salad I ever had was in Cancun, Mexico, on our honeymoon.
We went to several restaurants during that week: Japanese, Italian, Mexican, etc. We quickly realized that while the restaurants were serving ethnic foods, they were doing it all with a Mexican twist. We ordered Hibachi Steak at the Japanese restaurant, and they put chopped jalapenos on the griddle. The Italian tomato sauce had a definite chili flavor in the background. And the Caesar Salad was served with pickled jalapenos. They prepared it tableside, very traditionally, but they added jalapenos.
While I enjoyed some of these variations, I didn’t think much of the Caesar Salad packing heat. I prefer a much simpler, more traditional salad. The only major difference in my recipe is the use of a hard boiled egg. I was reading Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home recently, and their recipe called for using a hard boiled egg in place of the raw egg. The author said she tried it to make the salad “safer” (less risk of salmonella with cooked eggs), and ended up liking it better that way. So, I took my recipe and tried it with a hard boiled egg, and she is right! It makes a lovely, velvety dressing.