What is Caesar Salad?

Caesar Salad is a leafy green salad that consists of romaine lettuce with a dressing of egg yolks emulsified with olive oil and lemon juice mixed in with anchovies, garlic, dijon mustard, parmesan cheese, salt and black pepper.

The salad was invented by Italian immigrant Caesar Cardini in the 1920s. Caesar Cardini operated restaurants in Mexico and The United States. His daughter recounted that Cardini created the salad at his restaurant Caesar’s during a Fourth of July Rush when he was depleted of kitchen supplies. His original recipe did not contain anchovies and instead contained worchestershire sauce. Through time, chefs have adapted his popular recipe and replaced the worchestershire sauce with anchovies to create a richer and more savory dressing.

How to make Caesar Salad

INGREDIENTS

• 6 anchovies- minced
• 2 cloves of garlic- minced
• 1 tsp of salt
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 tbsp. of lemon juice
• 3/4 tsp of dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 3 tbsp. of shredded parmesan cheese
• Chopped romaine lettuce

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prep anchovies and garlic. Mash together. Add to medium bowl. Add salt. Add 2 egg yolks, lemon juice, dijon mustard and whisk together.

2. Drop by drop, drizzle the olive oil into the bowl with one hand while simultaneously whisking the egg mixture with the other. Emulsifying the olive oil into the egg mixture is the trickiest part. It can be made easier if you have a friend. If you have an extra hand, have one person drizzle in the olive oil as the other continuously whisks the egg mixture. Drizzle at a rate of about 90 seconds for the entire 1/2 cup. The dressing should be thick and glossy. Add in shredded parmesan cheese. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

3. Chop up romaine lettuce. Per plate, spoon 1 tbsp. of Caesar dressing over salad. Top off with some more shredded parmesan cheese and/or chopped anchovies.