Caesar Salad, Made with The Real Ingredients and Technique

This is a delicious recipe from our most creative friend Winter Rosebud, Enjoy her story and recipe!! “I thought I’d share my Caesar Salad dressing, as it is something I’ve been obsessed with for years and spent a good amount of time altering. I grew up going to Tijuana and eating the real thing, tossed table side at Caesars Hotel. When we where not making that trip, the Long Beach Yacht Club did a pretty close comparison, but this was back in the 70’s and I cannot contest to what they serve now 🙂 It really makes me crazy that the bottled stuff tastes nothing like Caesar dressing at all and in my opinion it is a crime!”unnamed-6unnamed-5unnamed-4

1 large head of organic romaine, washed and torn by hand into bite size pieces.
2 large cloves of fresh garlic, pressed or minced
1/4 cup Mission Blend Olive Oil (yes, we have used the Meyer Lem oil for this, its great too!)
Juice of one lemon (maybe more, depending on your lemon)
2 anchovy filets, minced. I do use a bit more sometimes, because I love anchovies!
1 large raw egg. (my mother used to coddle the egg and many people do that. I think it comes out gloopy.)
Lots of fresh black pepper.
Lots of fresh grated parmesan. I use at least 1/2 cup tossed in and more sprinkled on top 🙂

Please do not use any salt, until after you have tossed and tasted your salad. The saltiness from the cheese and anchovies is usually enough for us and the idea of this salad is to enjoy the simple flavors of quality ingredients!

Whisk olive oil, egg, lemon juice, garlic, some pepper and anchovies in a bowl until well mixed and frothy. This should taste lemony and slightly salty.

In a wooden bowl, add your torn romaine, then drizzle on your dressing, toss gently. Now start adding in your grated parmesan and tossing gently, until the dressing and cheese starts to bind to your leaves. Add more black pepper, your homemade croutons and toss gently again. Sprinkle lightly with more cheese and serve in wooden bowls.

If you are a true Caesar Salad junky like myself, you will have purchased a really good wooden salad bowl set, that you use only for this salad. A good wooden Caesar bowl becomes seasoned after multiple uses and should never be washed with soap, just as you would care for a good cast iron skillet 😀

NOTES: *Use whole anchovies, packed in olive oil and mince them yourself. Many “classic” recipes call for anchovy paste and I feel it tends to be way too salty.

*Use a good quality Parmesan cheese and do not use anything pre-grated. My favorite is the Stravecchio they sell at Trader Joes!

*Homemade croutons! ONLY. Store bought are too greasy, salty and dense. We use a soft french loaf, cubed and light tossed in Calolea Mission Blend and a couple cloves of pressed garlic, them baked on a sheet in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes. The inside of the crouton should still be a bit soft.

*GOOD olive oil. The Mission Blend by Calolea, adds the perfect buttery touch and is light enough to not weigh down your salad. I also must mention, this 2015 harvest we just received is DELICIOUS!!!