Cae Sal: Homemade Caesar Salad Recipe
by: Molly Baz
Cook Time
12 minutes
Prep Time
20 minutes
Yield
4 servings
Total Time
12 minutes
Prep Time
20 minutes
Yield
4 servings
summary
“If you only knew the things I’d do for a Cae Sal. Or perhaps you already do. To call it my brand would be to grossly underrepresent what this salad means to me. It is the Greatest Salad of All Time (GSOAT). I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about, talking about, eating, considering and developing what I believe is the platonic ideal of a Caesar salad recipe—crisp, cold romaine hearts; a thick peppery, garlicky dressing; lots and lots of Parmesan cheese; homemade croutons and enough lemon to make it all pop. And while technically you are going to have to make a mayonnaise from scratch in preparing this dressing, it’s actually super-duper easy and not as prone to failure as you might think. Trust.”
ingredients
- ½ crusty baguette (about 6 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Coarsely ground black pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 lemon
- 4 oil-packed anchovy filets
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about ½ cup), plus more for serving
- 4 romaine hearts
directions
Make the croutons
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Tear the baguette half into irregular 1-inch pieces; you should end up with about 3 cups of torn bread. Toss on a rimmed baking sheet with the olive oil, ½ teaspoon kosher salt and a few good cranks of pepper until well coated.
- Bake until deeply golden brown and crisp, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool.
Make the dressing
- Separate the yolks and whites of the eggs, placing the yolks in a large bowl (where you’ll build your dressing) and reserving the whites for another use.
- Finely grate the garlic clove and the zest of about half of the lemon into the bowl. Squeeze in the juice of half of the lemon.
- Finely chop the anchovies, then mash them to a paste using the side of a chef’s knife until homogenous; add to the bowl.
- Add the Dijon mustard to the bowl and whisk everything to combine.
- Place a damp kitchen towel underneath the bowl to stabilize it so it doesn’t slip ’n’ slide all over the place as you whisk in the oil. Starting with a very thin stream at first, whisking constantly as you go, incorporate the canola oil into the yolk mixture until it is thick, creamy and pale yellow.
- Whisk in ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, ¾ teaspoon pepper, the Worcestershire sauce and 1 ounce (¼ cup) grated Parmesan cheese. Taste the dressing on a leaf of romaine—it should be salty, cheesy and lemony. Make any adjustments necessary until it tastes so good that you’d be happy eating a bowl of it alone with a side of crouts.
Prep the lettuce
- Tear the leaves of 4 romaine hearts into 2-inch pieces and transfer them to the bowl of dressing.
- Squeeze the juice of the remaining lemon half over the romaine, season with salt and toss the leaves to coat—avoiding incorporating any of the dressing beneath just yet.
Serve the salad
- Add the croutons and gently toss the lettuce until well coated with dressing.
- Add the remaining ounce (¼ cup) of grated Parmesan cheese and toss again.
- Divide among plates and top with more grated Parmesan and black pepper.
notes
You are about to make mayonnaise by hand, BUT it’s not as hard as it sounds. The mustard, garlic and anchovies that get mixed into the egg yolk will help support the emulsion.
It’s always a good idea to preseason your greens with some acid and salt so they are zippy and zingy and hold up to the dressing. The lettuce contains water, which is going to dilute the flavor of the dressing, so you’ll always need a little extra acid to combat that.