PrintHow do you... Caesar?
Many years ago, a delicious, I mean delightful fellow named Umberto (sigh), taught me to make Caesar salad in a wonderfully seasoned wood bowl. (bigger sigh). Fresh garlic, anchovies, raw egg yolk, worcestershire, dry mustard, fresh lemon juice, fresh cracked pepper and fragrant EVolive oil (@Perky) We mashed and mixed our ingredients in the bowl with a fork and spoon. (OMG, I think I am going to swoon). Next, we gently tore beautiful romaine leaves and shaved the most incredible chunk of parmigiano reggiano. Each step in the creation was accompanied by Umberto's deep voice and very broken English. We carefully tossed the romaine with the dressing, added the shaved PR and added fresh made croutons.............................. Sorry, thank goodness for smelling salts! Anyway, I have not been the same since that day. But alas, Umberto returned to Italy and I got custody of the bowl. What a happy ending!
Fast forward to the age of food processors. These days I use the rolled anchovies with capers, I coddle my eggs and I use dijon mustard.
Tell me SE family, How do you Caesar?
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8 Comments:
i smash a garlic clove and mince it with a couple of rinsed anchovy fillets. then i add olive oil, lemon juice, pepper, a coddled egg, and a little dried mustard. i let it sit for about 20 minutes to take the raw edge off the garlic, then toss the romaine in it and shower the whole thing with parm. i make croutons out of baguette topped with a mixture of garlic, olive oil, and butter mixed with a little fresh parsley. i've never used worcestershire, but have never had any complaints.
cybercita at 1:51PM on 03/15/08
I tell the waiter I'd like a Caesar Salad. haha.
I love to cook, but I hate making salads at home. Sad because I'm trying to eat more fresh & raw veggies.
Now, I'm starting to feel a little ashamed of myself.
wookie at 2:08PM on 03/15/08
@crazyspice--Maybe if I had an Umberto tutorial I'd be passionate about my Caesar, too. After your description I don't know what I want more, the Caesar or Umberto!
wookie at 2:11PM on 03/15/08
Ditto wookie!
On the rare occasion I want the real thing, I make sure I have a very fresh egg and use the classic recipe - start by rubbing the wooden bowl with garlic. Most of the time I'm lazy and use bottled on my romaine and add an anchovy and good parm. I don't care for mustard in salad dressing.
PerkyMac at 5:09PM on 03/15/08
I was young and he was sssssooooooooooo hot! Subsequently, my beloved sister, put the wood bowl in the sink, filled it with hot soapy water, and left it to soak. The very last of my passionate caesar memories. (Biggest sigh of all time!)
I did eventually purchase a new teak wood bowl. Tonight, we are making Caesar the old fashioned way, I did coddle the egg, because I just feel it is necessary these days. It is waiting for my attention as I type. It was just barely heated through. I am so hungry right now!
crazyspice at 5:23PM on 03/15/08
I just had ravioli carbonara and put the egg in hot cream and added some boiling cooking water. Yeah, I'm a little afraid of raw eggs too.
You're saying you never heard of spinach ravioli carbonara? Hey, I used what I have left.
Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard to get her poor daughter a dress. When she got there, the cupboard was bare and so was her daughter, I guess. My cupboards are nearly bare. ;-D
PerkyMac at 5:30PM on 03/15/08
If I'm feeling ambitious, I use the recipe from the Joy of Cooking - except I grate the garlic into the oil instead of rubbing the bowl with it.
Usually though, I end up making a "Caesar-like" dressing with low fat mayo, lemon juice, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, anchovy paste, Parmesan cheese (or Romano - whichever is on hand), a splash of balsamic vinegar and some olive oil. In fact I have some that I made sitting in my fridge right now waiting to be used.
I am very finicky about croutons. I'll make them myself if I have leftover bread or else I'll skip them entirely. Otherwise the starch component is either pasta or the salad goes into a warmed flour tortilla.
Amandarama at 2:52PM on 03/17/08
The original recipe is me but I don't inflict it on non family members or non foodies who don't want to know about the egg., the cruttons must be homemeade.
NO_Pam at 9:28PM on 03/17/08