Clem's Caesar Salad

 

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:

 


Clem's
Caesar Salad

 

 

1. Ingredients
 

  • Factory-made mayonnaise.
     
  • A head or two of Romaine lettuce.
     
  • Fresh lemon juice.
     
  • Extra virgin olive oil.
     
  • Garlic paste.
    Buy some of make your own fresh by chopping and then mashing up some garlic with the flat of a knife).
     
  • Anchovies.
     
  • Parmigiano reggiano (or Parmesan) cheese.
     
  • Worcestershire sauce (optional).
     
  • 1 baguette or your favourite type of bread.
     

 

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!
 

 

All my cooking (some without recipes) can be found here (click on each photo to go to that dish's page):

 

http://clemkuek.com/photoalbum/photo696.html

 

Video presentations can be found here:

Earlier days: https://youtu.be/BWyHY1h9Y5s

More recently: https://youtu.be/cph2XmwuQLU

 

 

www.clemkuek.com

 

18 September 2025
 

 



Created by Clem Kuek