Caesar Salad II
Source of Recipe
From "See You On Sunday" by Sam Sifton
Recipe Introduction
"They killed Caesar with a chicken breast. They grilled a fist of it dry and cut and fanned out its slices over romaine slicked in watery dressing and served it for dinner, and that was when this once-mighty American salad fell lifeless to the dining room floor. Caesar salad topped with salmon. With chickpeas. With steak. You can make a Caesar salad that way if you want to, and make it the entirety of your Sunday meal, but really it's better as a starter or side dish, a classic old-school salad of the sort that you might see prepared tableside in an old-school steak house. As at that steak house, the most important thing about the salad is its dressing: anchovy-salty, really quite thick, so it cloaks the lettuce fully. Attend to that well."
List of Ingredients
◦ 4 to 6 salted anchovy fillets, rinsed, dried, and minced, or to taste, plus more for serving
◦ 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
◦ 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
◦ ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more Parmesan for serving
◦ 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
◦ 1 egg yolk or 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
◦ 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
◦ Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
◦ ⅔ cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
◦ 2 cups 1-inch cubes Italian bread
◦ 2 heads romaine lettuce, roughly cut, well rinsed and dried
Recipe
Heat the oven to 350° F. In a food processor, combine the anchovies, lemon juice, garlic, cheese, mustard, egg yolk, Worcestershire, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle ⅔ cup of the oil into the mixture as the processor works, emulsifying the dressing. (You may not need all the oil.) When the dressing has achieved the consistency of a loose mayonnaise, remove it from the food processor and set aside.
Arrange the pieces of bread on a baking sheet and drizzle with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Place in the oven until the croutons begin to turn golden, about 10 minutes, then remove and set aside.
In a large bowl, toss the lettuce and the croutons with just enough dressing to cover the romaine as a sauce would pasta. Place in a serving bowl and grate Parmesan over the top. Add extra anchovies to taste.
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