The precise origins of the Caesar salad are often disputed and therefore likely to forever remain unclear. What is fairly certain, however, is that the original Caesar salad did not contain fish or meat ingredients, such as anchovies or chicken, which are commonly incorporated in Caesar salads today. This nothing yet version is intended to be as close to the original as possible.
Classic Caesar Salad
Serves: 1
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: Approximately 5 minutes
Ingredients
4 romaine lettuce leaves
1 large egg
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 ¾” thick slices of white crusty bread
2 ounces Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
The egg should be partially cooked only, by the process which is known as coddling. It is imperative for this reason that your egg be as fresh as possible. Put the egg in to a small saucepan and add enough cold water that it is comfortably covered. Place on a high heat until the water begins to boil, before reducing the heat and simmering for one minute only. Run cold water in the pan until the egg is cool enough to handle. Break it in to a small bowl and discard the shell.
Add two tablespoons of the extra virgin olive oil, the Worcestershire sauce and the lemon juice to the egg. Season simply with freshly ground black pepper, as the Worcestershire sauce should provide all the salty flavor required. Use a small hand whisk to quickly beat the mixture and combine.
Cut the crusts off the bread slices and discard. Chop the bread into cubes of approximately three-quarters of an inch. Pour the remaining tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in to a non-stick frying pan and bring it up to a medium heat. Gently fry the bread until crisp and golden. Note that it is very important not to add the bread to cold oil as it will absorb it rather than immediately start to crisp on the outside, leading to it being served greasy. Drain the croutons on a plate covered with kitchen paper.
Wash and dry the lettuce leaves. Arrange them attractively in a single layer on the base of the plate and evenly pour the sauce over the top. Add the croutons before either thinly slicing or roughly shredding the Parmesan cheese and scattering it over the top last of all. Alternatively, use a vegetable peeler to scrape curls of Parmesan cheese from a larger block for an extra attractive finish.
A classic Caesar salad makes for an excellent light lunch, appetizer or even a side dish for dinner. If you do wish to add anchovies or chicken to it, the anchovies are best finely chopped before being stirred through the egg-based dressing. The chicken will have to be precooked, before being laid over the lettuce leaves prior to dressing. This is an excellent method of using up leftover roast or poached chicken.
