- Prep time20 mins
- Cook time10 mins
- Servings4
- DifficultyEasy
- CategoryContinental
Caesar salad has no business being boring, yet bottled dressing makes it so. The real dressing is an emulsion you build by hand: garlic and anchovy pounded to a paste, egg yolk and lemon, then oil whisked in drop by drop until it turns creamy. It takes five minutes and tastes nothing like the jar. Torn — never cut — romaine, croutons fried in garlic oil, and Parmesan shaved over the top at the table.
Ingredients
- 2 romaine hearts, torn into bite-size pieces
- For the dressing: 2 garlic cloves, 4 anchovy fillets, 1 egg yolk (very fresh), 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 1/3 cup (80 ml) olive oil, 1/4 cup (25 g) grated Parmesan, salt, black pepper
- For the croutons: 2 cups cubed day-old bread, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 garlic clove (smashed), salt
- Parmesan shavings and lemon wedges, to serve
- Grilled chicken slices (optional)
Method
- Mash the garlic and anchovies into a smooth paste with the side of a knife and a pinch of salt.
- Whisk in the egg yolk, lemon juice and Dijon. Drizzle in the olive oil very slowly, whisking constantly, until thick and creamy. Whisk in the Parmesan; season with salt and plenty of black pepper.
- For the croutons, heat the olive oil with the smashed garlic until fragrant; discard the garlic. Toss in the bread cubes and fry until golden and crisp, 5 to 6 minutes.
- Toss the romaine with just enough dressing to gloss every leaf — overdressed Caesar is a tragedy.
- Top with warm croutons, Parmesan shavings and chicken if using. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.
Tips for success
- Tear, don't cut, the romaine — cut edges brown faster and the texture is better torn.
- Dress the salad at the last possible second so the leaves stay crisp.
- Use a very fresh egg for the yolk, or substitute 2 tbsp mayonnaise as the emulsifier.
Watch video tutorial
Prefer to watch it being made? This from Varun Inamdar walkthrough covers the same caesar salad step by step — the spoken narration doubles as an audio tutorial.