Caesar Salad

From scratch dressing with options for building the salad.

35 minutes
Cook Well Official

Ingredients

Dressing

  • Egg Yolks
    1
  • Anchovies
    3-4
  • Garlic
    1-2 cloves
  • Dijon Mustard
    1 spoonful15 g
  • Lemon juice
    1/2 lemon
  • Parmigiano Reggiano
    2 spoonfuls15 g
  • Neutral oil
    as needed150 g
  • Black Pepper
    to taste
  • Salt
    to taste

Salad components

  • Romaine lettuce, chopped or torn
  • Parmigiano Reggiano, shaved or grated
    for garnish
  • Black Pepper
    for garnish

Extra topping options

  • Croutons
  • Bacon, bits
  • Shallots, fried
  • Chicken Breasts, cooked and sliced
  • Anchovies, leftover
  • Cherry tomatoes

Method

Step 1: Prep & start the dressing

Clean & dry the lettuce you will be using. If you have the time, tear the lettuce into large bite-sized pieces instead of chopping it.

  • Lettuce tears easily along its cell walls, but can bruise and oxidize along cut lines if you use a knife. Tearing also gets you slightly irregular pieces for a more natural texture and eating experience.

Start the pungent base. In a blender or food processor, puree together egg, anchovies, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, and parmesan until smooth.

Step 2: Emulsify the dressing

Slowly drizzle in the oil while blending, starting with a very small stream and gradually increasing the flow as an forms. Pause frequently and check that the oil is fully incorporated into the mixture — the dressing should be smooth and creamy and thicken as you add more oil.

  • Continue blending in oil until the desired consistency is reached. If it gets too thick, you can thin it out with water or lemon juice.

  • It’s hard to say exactly how much oil you will need because it depends on the emulsion power of your base. Keep blending in oil until the dressing is creamy, viscous, and lighter in color. Don’t hold back — you can always thin it back with a splash of water if you go too far into mayo-thickness-territory.

Add freshly cracked black pepper, and salt if needed (taste it first — many of the ingredients are naturally salty already). Add more lemon juice if extra acidity is needed.

This will make enough dressing for multiple servings/heads of lettuce. Keep extra in a sealed container in the fridge.

  • Note: If your emulsion breaks (you’ll know — it’ll separate into a greasy mess) you added too much oil too quickly. You can save it by emptying the blender into another vessel, start with one more egg yolk and a bit of lemon juice in the blender. Slowly drizzle the broken dressing into the running blender until it properly emulsifies.

Step 3: Assemble the salad

Toss your choice of prepared lettuce and toppings with enough dressing to coat everything. Garnish with plenty of black pepper and grated parmesan. Enjoy.

Nutritional Information

SALAD DRESSING ONLY
Calories1638
6g
170g
25g

Show macros split into…

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Recommended: 8 servings

FAQ

I don’t like anchovies….

The dressing won’t taste fishy. Anchovies add saltiness, , and complexity — you gotta try it. However, you can substitute in a tsp Worcestershire or fish sauce, or omit them completely for a vegetarian recipe.

Do I have to use romaine lettuce?

Any , neutral lettuce works. Try gem or Boston lettuce, or a combination of those with romaine. If you don’t mind a stronger background flavor, feel free to use darker greens like red lettuce, arugula, or a spring mix.

I don’t have a blender or food processor…

You can make this dressing the traditional way! Puree the base of the dressing in a mortar and pestle or with your knife on a cutting board. Add those to a bowl and slowly whisk in the dressing by hand. You will still create an , just know it won’t be as and smooth as the dressing will be in the blender.

Store bought croutons just aren't that good...

We couldn't agree more. This salad is so much better with homemade croutons. While you make the salad, easily bake some: pop some cubed or torn leftover bread into an oven to . Optionally coat in olive oil and garlic powder for extra flavor and a .