caesar salad
If you don’t have a large mor-
tar and pestle, you can easily
make a garlic paste with a
chef’s knife. Keep in mind
that this is a zesty, assertive
dressing that comes into bal-
ance nicely when combined
with the cool, crisp romaine
and salty cheese.
Serves 4 to 6
For ThE CrouTonS
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1½ cups torn pieces from
a baguette or other
crusty bread
Coarse salt and freshly
ground black pepper
For ThE SAlAd
2 large heads romaine lettuce
2 small cloves garlic
Coarse salt
4 oil-packed anchovy fillets,
rinsed and patted dry
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. dijon mustard
Juice from ½ lemon
(about 4 tsp.)
Freshly ground black pepper
dash of Tabasco or other
hot sauce
Scant ¼ tsp. Worcestershire
sauce
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup loosely packed flat-leaf
parsley leaves
½ cup freshly grated
Parmigiano-reggiano or
Grana Padano
MAKE ThE CrouTonS
Warm the oil in a medium skillet
over medium-low heat. Add the
bread pieces, toss to coat, and
cook, turning periodically, until
golden on the outside but still
tender inside, 12 to 15 minutes.
let them cool in one layer on
paper towels. Season with salt
and pepper to taste.
MAKE ThE SAlAd
Remove the outer leaves of
the romaine until you reach the
tightly packed heart (the leaves
will be much paler); set the outer
leaves aside for another use.
Separate the leaves of the heart
and slice them into pieces about
3 inches long (leave the smallest
leaves whole) to yield a heaping
8 cups of loosely packed leaves.
Rinse and dry very thoroughly.
Put the garlic and a pinch of
coarse salt in a large (3- to 4-cup)
mortar. Using a pestle, pound the
garlic into a creamy, juicy paste.
Add the anchovies, mashing
until they’re broken down into
bits. Add the egg yolk, working
the mixture into a paste. Work in
the mustard and then the lemonjuice. Blend in a pinch of black
pepper, the Tabasco, and the
Worcestershire. Switch to a whisk
and drizzle in the olive oil, whisk-
ing con tinuously until blended
and creamy.
Put the lettuce, parsley, and
croutons in a large bowl. Season
with salt and pepper and toss.
Add the dressing and toss to coat
thoroughly. Sprinkle with 2 to
3 Tbs. of the cheese and toss
again. Serve immediately with the
remaining cheese on the side.
note: If you’re serving this
salad to anyone with a compro-mised immune system, replace
the raw egg yolk in the dressing
with the yolk from a soft-boiled
egg, or omit the egg yolk
altogether.Switch from a
pestle to a whisk
to finish the
dressing. drizzle
in the oil slowly
for the creamiest
results.FINeCOOKING.COM 47