A Caesar salad that doesn’t use egg but is really close to the original one invented in Tijuana (if, in fact, that is where it was invented).
1 head organic romaine lettuce, washed & dried
Croutons:
¼ (one quarter) cup virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
a half loaf of day old French bread cut into one half inch cubes
Dressing:
3 anchovy fillets
1 clove garlic
a little less than half a cup of grated parmesan
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
½ tbs cracked black pepper
a teaspoon or so of strong French Dijon
¼ cup of olive oil
Wash lettuce in very cold water. Dry well. Cut in pieces, or break in pieces with your hands. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Combine olive oil with salt and pepper, add bread cubes and toss to coat. Heat in a
skillet over medium high-heat. Stir bread cubes to brown all sides. It should take about
five minutes. (for richer breadcrumbs, sauté in a mixture of olive oil and butter.)
Dice garlic and in a food processor with a metal blade combine, anchovy fillets, garlic,
half the parmesan, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and mustard. Blend on
high speed until smooth. Then on low, slowly add olive oil in a fine stream and mix
for a half a minute more. Keep dressing chilled until ready to serve.
Sort lettuce into bowl, add dressing and toss, add croutons and toss again, sprinkle with remaining parmesan and a little sauce and pepper and if you like add a few more anchovies as garnish.
Adapted from “Our Latin Table” by Fernando Sarlegui