In a food processor, combine the herring, garlic, egg yolk,
Parmesan, Worcestershire, and pepper until you have a paste.
With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until you
have an emulsified dressing that looks like an aioli. Taste the
dressing for salt and pepper and adjust.
In a large bowl, combine the romaine and the croutons. Add a
big spoonful of the dressing and toss, adding more dressing as you
see fit. When you’re happy with the amount, transfer the salad to
a soup tureen (see Kitchen Know-How) or cold individual salad
bowls. Top each with lots of Parmesan* grated on a Microplane
grater and more freshly ground pepper.
* This is a measurement based on how many times Dufour
rotated his pepper grinder. It’s probably about a good teaspoon
of freshly ground pepper.* We skipped this step when Dufour and I made this Caesar
together and it tasted great; but he suggests that you do it if you
have the time.* Dufour recommends topping it with so much Parmesan you can
no longer see the salad. Though that may be extreme, Sam
Sifton, in his New York Times review of M. Wells, wrote that
the Caesar is “showered in enough Parmesan to qualify as both
crazy and just exactly the right amount.”