No,
Julius did not create this salad. Instead, in 1924, a certain
Caesar (pronounced saysar) Cardini devised
this recipe in Tijuana, Mexico (arriba, arriba, ole!).
The original recipe called for Worcestershire sauce (it's not
"wash your sister" sauce; it's pronounced "woostershear" sauce)
but nowadays, it is de rigueur to include anchovies
instead in Caesar Salad sauce for the distinctive flavour
of this culinary classic.
The
sauce for this salad is classically made using raw egg yolks. As
a microbiologist, I have a problem with accepting the use of raw
eggs in foods which are not cooked. Therefore, in my method for
preparing this dish, I prefer the use of manufactured mayonnaise
which I know to be heat-treated to minimize viable food
pathogens such as Salmonella.
Here
is my method for making Caesar Salad:
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2.
Method
Make the croutons
- Cut your bread into crouton
sizes of your choosing.
- Into a mixing bowl, add some olive
oil (or a 1:1 mix of olive oil and melted butter), some
garlic paste, and salt.
Add some parleys or chives if you so desire.
Mix well.
The quantity to produce is that which is sufficient to coat
the bread pieces.
- Add your cut bread pieces to the
mixed oil in the bowl.
Toss well to coat every piece.
- Place the bread onto a baking
tray.
You may choose to shred some Parmigiano reggiano
cheese on to of the bread on the tray for extra taste.
- Bake in an oven at 180oC
for some 10 - 20 minutes (until each piece is brown and
crunchy).
- Set aside to cool when done.
Make the Salad
dressing
- Chop up and then mash up (with a
spoon) a decent amount of anchovies.
Add the anchovy paste to a mixing bowl.
- Add a quantity of mayonnaise into
the bowl (the amount needed is that which will be sufficient
for coat the amount of lettuce which you wish to use).
- Add some garlic paste.
- Squeeze in some fresh lemon juice.
- Add some extra virgin olive oil.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- OPTIONAL: add a dash of
worcestershire sauce (note that with anchovies, this may be
redundant).
- Mix everything into a smooth
dressing.
Adjust the consistency with oil, lemon juice or milk (your
preference according the the final resulting taste) so that
what you end up with is a thickness akin to heavy cream.
Taste and adjust as required with any of the ingredients
above.
Assemble the dish
- Wash, dry, and then cut up the
Romaine lettuce into sizes of your preference.
- Toss the lettuce pieces with the
salad dressing in the mixing bowl until all is evenly
coated.
- Now add some of the croutons
to the dressed salad.
The croutons are added last so that they retain their
crunchiness for as long as possible.
- Now assemble the dressed lettuce
onto your salad platter.
- Shred Parmigiano reggiano
cheese on top of the lettuce.
You can also add slices of the cheese on top.
You have made Caesar Salad!
- Serve with your chosen protein.
My choice tonight was a fillet of smoked salmon.
ENJOY!
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