by Kat Apf

Created on: August 18, 2011   Last Updated: October 06, 2011

If you think Caesar salad is dressing in a bottle, found on grocery store shelves, you're in for a big treat by making your own.  Many people think Caesar salad is too difficult to make at home but it's not.  And it tastes so much better than dressing from a bottle.

The main ingredients in the dressing for Caesar salad are coddled eggs or eggs that are only slightly cooked and anchovies.  It sounds a little weird and possibly gross but it's truly delicious.  Chances are, if you don't reveal the ingredients to family or guests, they'll just enjoy it and not get all creeped out by the egg and anchovies.

This salad would not be complete without the croutons but don't feel you must make your own croutons.  If you're not exactly that adventurous, just use store bought croutons.  If you're a more adventurous sort you can make the croutons.

According to ReluctantGrourmet.com, Caesar salad was invented in 1924 in Mexico by Caesar Cardini and this website says that anchovies were not in the original recipe.  I've never had homemade Caesar salad or Caesar salad in a restaurant without anchovies, though.

Your best bet is to prepare the dressing in the bowl you plan on serving the salad in.  A wooden salad bowl is ideal.  If you're going to serve this in a glass or metal bowl, prepare the dressing in a separate bowl but if you use a wooden one, whisk and mash that dressing right in the bowl.

Ingredients-
1 large head of romaine lettuce
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of prepared mustard
1 or 2 minced cloves of garlic (You can actually use more garlic if you like)
1 coddled egg
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
Black pepper to taste
Parmesan Cheese to taste
2 cups of croutons
1 small can of anchovies

Preparation -
Clean the lettuce really well. There's nothing worse than dirty salad.  Let the lettuce sit in the refrigerator while you prepare the dressing.
Whisk the olive oil, red wine vinegar, mustard, garlic and lemon juice together. Really give it a good whisk and meld those ingredients together. 

To coddle an egg, just bring a small pot of water to a boil, drop your egg (Still in the shell) in and let it sit there for about a minute or so.  Crack the egg into the liquid you've just whisked and whisk it again.  Make sure you really stir them together well. 

With a fork, add the anchovies into the dressing and mash them into the dressing until they're fairly well incorporated.  It's okay if a few lumps of anchovies aren't mixed in thoroughly but for the most part, the anchovies should be mashed in very well.

Add the lettuce to the bowl of dressing and toss  gently so all the leaves are coated.  If you've used a different bowl to prepare the dressing, pour the dressing onto the lettuce leaves. 

Garnish with Parmesan, pepper and croutons. 

You have to serve this right away or the lettuce gets soggy. 

If you add chopped chicken to this salad, you've got a complete main dish.

Caesar salad is certainly more work than your average salad but it's well worth the effort.

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