Hail Caesar

There is great mystery around the invention of Caesar Salad. Wikipedia has a good summary of the supposed origins:

The salad's creation is generally attributed to restaurateur Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant who operated restaurants in Mexico and the United States. Cardini was living in San Diego but also working in Tijuana where he avoided the restrictions of Prohibition. His daughter Rosa (1928–2003) recounted that her father invented the dish when a Fourth of July 1924 rush depleted the kitchen's supplies. Cardini made do with what he had, adding the dramatic flair of the table-side tossing "by the chef." A number of Cardini's staff have said that they invented the dish.

Caesar Cardini

Julia Child said that she had eaten a Caesar salad at Cardini's restaurant when she was a child in the 1920s. The earliest contemporary documentation of Caesar Salad is from a 1946 Los Angeles restaurant menu, twenty years after the 1924 origin stated by the Cardinis.

I figure if Julia claims to have had it in the 1920’s at Cardini’s restaurant, I’ll go with that. There are many problems with Caesar Salad. The ingredients are fairly simple, romaine, parmesan, croutons and dressing. The only detour I make is to add roasted garlic cloves. Of course, if you want to have grilled chicken, that is a fine accompaniment to make it into a meal. Any of these not well prepared can turn out a less than satisfactory experience.

The dressing is of course the main feature. When done correctly, it’s garlicky but you don’t taste it for the rest of the week. It shouldn’t be pasty either. Don’t be afraid of the anchovies. Have fun coddling an egg. Use fresh lemon juice and fresh ground pepper.

Only Parmigiano Reggiano, if possible. Or at least something that has a good parmesan flavor. Nothing out of a cardboard box works. Hearts of romaine lettuce roughly chopped are the best; chopped not torn.

Make your croutons. It’s easy. Store bought croutons are not good. 

Croutons

2 cups bread, cubed                 3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon olive oil               1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/4 teaspoon basil                    1/4 teaspoon oregano

salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix melted butter, olive oil, salt, and herbs in a medium bowl. Toss butter mixture with cubed bread until cubes are evenly coated. Spread coated bread cubes on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake for 30 minutes and check to see if they are dry, crispy, and golden brown. Stir the croutons around and bake for an additional 30 minutes until done or longer until golden brown. Store croutons in air-tight container or ziplock bag.

My twist is roasted garlic. This imparts an additional layer of garlic flavor without being overpowering.

Roasted Garlic

2 heads garlic                                    1 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves

1 tablespoon olive oil                         Coarse salt and ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a serrated knife, slice off top quarter of garlic heads, exposing as many cloves as possible. Arrange garlic heads, cut side up, in an 8- or 9-inch square baking dish (make sure garlic heads sit flat).

Season garlic with salt and pepper and sprinkle with thyme. Drizzle the oil over each head, letting it soak into and around cloves. Cover dish tightly with foil and roast until cloves are golden, completely soft, and begin to protrude slightly from skins, about 1 hour. Let stand until cool enough to handle.

From the bottom up, squeeze each head to push out cloves (peel skins from any completely enclosed cloves). Store in an air tight container.

About 20 years ago, I had a subscription to the Oregonian (Portland, Oregon’s paper). They had (and probably still do) a fabulous food section. I have many recipes from that section. I came across Caesar Salad with Roasted Garlic in that section and have never looked back. I get rave reviews about it. Ex-husbands and Ex-boyfriends yearn for it; too bad for them.

For my 40^th birthday my friends wrote and performed a skit to perform about making this Caesar Salad. They all imitated famous chefs: Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Emeril Lagasse, Martha Stewart and a few more I can’t recall. Each step was acted out with great parody and laughter. It’s on tape; maybe someday it’ll be famous.

Mise en Place

Caesar Salad with Roasted Garlic Cloves

4 heads romaine lettuce                                  

1 large egg

1/4 cup lemon juice, fresh

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

1 tablespoon anchovy paste

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, fresh, shaved

2 cups croutons

salt to taste

pepper to taste, freshly ground

1-2 heads garlic, roasted, separated

2 cups croutons

Wash and dry the romaine. Using only the hearts of the romaine, chop into 2-3 inch pieces. Chill.

Dressing:

  Coddled egg: Bring egg to room temperature by running it under hot water for a bit. Place it in a mug and pour boiling water over it. Let it sit for 1 minute. Drain egg and use.

  In a food processor or blender, combine egg, lemon juice, minced garlic, mustard, Worcestershire, hot sauce and anchovy paste. Blend. Slowly add olive oil while blending. After all the olive oil is incorporated, give it a taste. If it’s too olive oily tasting add more lemon juice a tablespoon at a time to cut the oil taste.

To serve:

  Place romaine in bowl. Add part of the dressing and toss. Add the Parmesan, croutons and roasted garlic, toss. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add more dressing and toss to coat the lettuce. Serve. Servings: 6

This salad does not keep after dressing it. Don’t expect to dress it an hour before dinner and have be edible. This is a last minute toss. Enjoy.