Secrets of the Best Chefs

Smoked Herring Caesar Salad

Serves 2 to 4

What makes this salad so notably great is the smokiness from the

herring; it’s as if a regular Caesar salad dressing spent some time

hanging around the bad kids at school. The Worcestershire also

adds another layer of umami to the proceedings; give this a try and

chances are, you won’t go back to regular Caesar again.

1 fillet of smoked herring (with any bones removed)

1 cup red wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 egg yolk

⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for later

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

13 turns* of black pepper, plus more to taste

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

3 large heads of romaine lettuce, cleaned and sliced

Sourdough croutons

To soften the herring a little, soak it in the red wine vinegar* in a

shallow plate for a few hours at room temperature before you use

it. Discard the vinegar after soaking.