Equipment
Ingredients
Garlic Croutons
- 100 g sourdough bread, cut into 2cm cubes
- 30 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic, minced
- 2 g kosher salt
Caesar Dressing
- 2 egg yolks, room temperature
- 15 g anchovy fillets, finely minced into a paste
- 2 garlic, grated or finely minced
- 10 g dijon mustard
- 30 ml lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 80 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 30 g parmigiano-reggiano, finely grated
- black pepper, freshly cracked
Salad Base
- 300 g romaine lettuce hearts, washed, thoroughly dried, and chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 20 g parmigiano-reggiano, shaved for garnish
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 414 kcal
- Protein
- 10 g
- Carbohydrates
- 17 g
- Fat
- 34 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sugar
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 792 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 7 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 22 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 4 g
- Cholesterol
- 109 mg
- Potassium
- 251 mg
- Calcium
- 200 mg
- Iron
- 1.5 mg
- Magnesium
- 22 mg
- Phosphorus
- 161 mg
- Zinc
- 0.9 mg
- Vitamin A
- 388 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 7 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.6 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 4.5 mg
- Vitamin K
- 94 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.4 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.09 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.16 mg
- Niacin
- 1.1 mg
- Folate
- 118 mcg
- Water
- 92 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Preheat your oven to 190°C/375°F for the croutons.
Place the cubed sourdough bread on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 30ml of olive oil, sprinkle with the minced garlic clove and kosher salt, and toss until evenly coated.
Bake the croutons for 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks, anchovy paste, grated garlic, Dijon mustard, and lemon juice. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is smooth and uniform.
While whisking continuously, begin adding the 80ml of extra virgin olive oil drop by drop. Once the emulsion forms, pour the remaining oil in a very slow, steady stream until the dressing is thick and glossy.
Stir the 30g of finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and freshly cracked black pepper into the dressing until well incorporated.
Add the dry, chopped romaine lettuce to the bowl with the dressing. Toss gently but thoroughly to ensure every leaf is lightly coated.
Add half of the cooled homemade croutons to the salad and toss once more.
Transfer the salad to serving plates or a large bowl. Top with the remaining croutons and the 20g of shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve immediately.
Chef's Notes
- Using room temperature egg yolks is crucial. Cold egg yolks are stiff and resist absorbing the oil, significantly increasing the chances of your dressing breaking.
- Meticulously drying the romaine lettuce is arguably the most important step in salad making. Oil and water repel each other; any residual water on the leaves will dilute the dressing and force it to slide right off.
- To achieve a smoother anchovy paste without large chunks, place the fillets on your cutting board, add a tiny pinch of coarse salt, and use the flat side of your chef knife to smear and crush the anchovies against the board until pulverized.
- If raw garlic proves too pungent for your palate, blanch the unpeeled cloves in boiling water for 30 seconds before peeling and grating. This neutralizes the harsh bite while leaving the savory garlic essence.
Storage
Refrigerator: 1 day — Keep dressing, croutons, and lettuce in separate airtight containers. Do not store dressed salad.
Troubleshooting
Dressing is thin and has a greasy layer separating on top
Cause: Olive oil was added too quickly for the egg yolk to successfully emulsify it
Fix: Place a fresh egg yolk or a teaspoon of warm water in a clean bowl. Whisk vigorously while slowly streaming the broken dressing into the new bowl to re-emulsify
Prevention: Add oil drop by drop initially, whisking continuously before progressing to a slow stream
Salad is watery and dressing does not cling to leaves
Cause: Romaine lettuce was not dried completely after washing
Fix: Cannot be fixed once assembled
Prevention: Use a salad spinner and pat leaves thoroughly dry with paper towels
Cultural Context
The Caesar salad was invented in 1924 by Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant operating a restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico. According to culinary lore, Cardini created the dish out of sheer necessity during a frantically busy Fourth of July weekend when kitchen supplies were severely depleted. Originally prepared dramatically tableside, the authentic recipe used whole inner romaine leaves meant to be eaten with the fingers and relied on coddled eggs rather than completely raw yolks.
