Hail Caesar

Perhaps you have been fortunate enough to have had a great Caesar salad at a great restaurant. Perhaps even prepared tableside. That’s the way I fell in love with it.

And I thought, “I will never be able to make this at home.”

But, yes, you can. And it’s really very simple.

How to Make Caesar Salad at Home

Please don’t buy bottled or packaged Caesar dressing. It is not anything like the real deal. But I do have a few tricks that will make the homemade Caesar salad dressing a little bit easier.

Sure, you can cheat a little bit and buy the organic Romaine hearts in the package, like I do from Trader Joe’s.

And yes, you can use anchovy paste instead of anchovies, because what do you do with the leftover anchovies in the tin that merely succeed in stinking up the fridge?

And, of course, you can use a dollop of mayo which has eggs in it instead of a whole, raw egg yolk.

No Pre-Shredded Parm

But only use fresh Parmesan cheese.

David is the official Caesar salad dressing maker at our house. He claims to have been making this salad since he was 7-years-old and, though he has tried many recipes, this is the one that works best and tastes best.

We found this recipe years ago in an old Bobby Flay cookbook and tweaked it just a touch to make it our own. It really is great and it’s so easy, even a 7-year-old can make it.

If you feel like you’re missing out on the ubiquitous Caesar with grilled chicken, then add some grilled chicken and you have your favorite salad.

Buen provecho!

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Caesar Salad

Course Salad

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 2

Author Adapted by The Cowgirl Gourmet's husband from a very old Bobby Flay recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon white or red wine vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 3 anchovy filets or 1/2 tsp. anchovy paste
• Pinch kosher or sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
• 1/2 lemon, juiced or if it's not too juicy use the whole lemon
• 3 shots Tabasco
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus more for the top of the salad (however much you want)
• 2 hearts Romaine they come three to a package, torn in bite-size pieces

Instructions

1. In a large salad bowl, add white or red wine vinegar, minced garlic and anchovies or anchovy paste. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on top and stir with a fork, mashing the anchovies, garlic and salt in the vinegar.
2. Add Dijon mustard, Worchestershire, lemon juice and Tabasco and stir with the fork to combine.
3. Stir in the mayo and once it is all combined, slowly begin to drizzle in the olive oil, using a whisk to combine and emulsify.

4. Using a Microplane, grate 1 tablespoon fresh Parmesan in the dressing and stir to combine.

5. Pour 2/3 f the dressing into a bowl or jar, leaving 1/3 in the bowl. Add the lettuce, toss and add more dressing as needed. This prevents the salad from being overdressed.

6. Grate or shave more Parmesan cheese on top of the salad.

7. Serve with a few grinds of fresh black pepper on top.

8. Reserve any leftover dressing in a jar in the fridge.