Caesar Salad Dressing. My husband makes an outstanding Caesar Salad Dressing. Although a higher fat dressing than is “good for you,” his lemony Caesar dressing is certainly a staple in our refrigerator.Sure, you can tell me it’s not “authentic” without egg yolks…and that’s ok. He uses mayonnaise in order to bypass the “raw egg yolk” concern. And we enjoy this easy-to-make dressing in moderation.
The origin of Caesar Salad is attributed to Caesar Cardini, a restaurateur in Mexico and the United States. Many variations of the original dressing have appeared in cookbooks over the years. Caesar Cardini is said to have preferred the use of Worcestershire sauce instead of anchovies in his Caesar Salad Dressing.
To make his special Caesar Salad Dressing, my husband combines mayonnaise, the juice of a lemon, minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, anchovy paste (optional), safflower seed oil and extra virgin olive oil. Just whisk the ingredients together and store in a sealed container in your refrigerator for up to a week. Sometimes, my husband will substitute a country-style Dijon mustard for a different texture and flavor than the usual smooth Dijon.
A couple of favorite Caesar salads that I’ve enjoyed over the years have each had a slightly different twist to their flavorings.
Annabelle’s Bar and Bistro in San Francisco, California, under the helm of Chef Matthew Lee back in the early 2000s, had one of the best Caesar salad dressings I’ve tasted. Chef Lee was polite enough to provide me with his recipe: just the ingredients — no amounts — which is usually the way that my husband and I cook — to taste.
Another great Caesar was served at The Metropolitan Grill in Seattle, Washington circa 2001. Since then, the restaurant has changed its Caesar salad ingredients. I remember a Caesar salad of whole Romaine leaves stacked elegantly on the plate, and drizzled with Caesar dressing. The unique ingredient was a sprinkling of crushed nuts which appeared to be toasted hazelnuts. A very interesting and welcoming addition to the classic Caesar salad. My version of that salad uses chopped toasted pistachios!
One of my favorite restaurants at the Delaware Shore is Catch 54. The Caesar salad served at Catch 54 offers fresh white anchovies on top! It’s one of my husband’s favorite salads besides his own Caesar.
One of the closest restaurants to our home is Trummers On Main in Clifton, VA. It’s a contemporary American restaurant with seasonal menu offerings. Trummers’ Caesar Salad is sometimes served in a glass! Unique idea that you can use for your own entertaining purposes.
At home, we like to serve our Caesar salad as an accompaniment to baked fish or grilled chicken.
Also, adding some cooked, peeled, and deveined shrimp to your Caesar salad can make you feel like royalty!
Add some croutons to your Caesar salad, sprinkle on some shredded or shaved Parmesan, or try it with another set of salad greens than the usual Romaine.
I like to use red and green leaf lettuces or arugula sometimes! The arugula goes great with the Caesar dressing!
Use whole Romaine leaves for a different effect:
And enjoy!
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From the kitchen of A Food Lover’s Delight….
Hubby’s Special Caesar Salad Dressing
Ingredients:
3/4 c mayonnaise (we prefer to use Hellmann’s or vegan Just Mayo)
juice of one lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T Dijon mustard
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/8 c safflower seed oil
1/8 c extra virgin olive oil
anchovy paste to taste (optional, can also be substituted for the Worcestershire sauce, to your taste)
Method:
Whisk together all ingredients in a non-metallic bowl until emulsified (or you can add the oils slowly after you’ve whisked the other ingredients together). Add the optional anchovy paste to taste, or use anchovy paste instead of the Worcestershire sauce — both have anchovy flavor. My husband uses about 1/4 teaspoon of anchovy paste for this recipe. And as always, adjust the ingredient amounts to your own tastes. That’s what makes a great salad dressing! He doesn’t season the dressing with salt and pepper as he prefers to season the salad after it is dressed (some diners don’t like cracked black pepper). Transfer to a tightly sealed container. Store in refrigerator for up to one week.
Makes a little more than 1 cup of dressing. of dressing. We usually dress the greens and then add some grated Parmesan before tossing. Garnish your Caesar salad with shaved or shredded Parmesan.
Variations: Use another flavorless oil instead of safflower seed oil. Use a country-style dijon mustard instead of the regular smooth Dijon mustard. My husband doesn’t recommend using raw egg yolks due to bacterial issues so I don’t offer that as a variation on the mayonnaise in this recipe. We also substitute the vegan eggless Just Mayo for the Hellmann’s mayonnaise. You can use fat-free mayonnaise in this recipe although I think it detracts from the taste, and causes the dressing to become runnier. Sprinkle on some chopped toasted nuts or toasted croutons for a fabulous taste and some additional crunch!
www.afoodloversdelight.com (Copyright Adroit Ideals 2013) updated 10/2015
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