by Zach Bigalke

Created on: April 12, 2007   Last Updated: December 09, 2011

The Caesar salad, often referred to as the "king of salads", was brought into the world in 1924 in Tijuana, Mexico through a bit of wily improvisation. Caesar Cardini, an Italian chef and restaurateur, commuted from San Diego to Tijuana every day to operate his small hotel and restaurant outside of the prohibitions of Prohibition. Legend has it that Cardini was cleaned out of most of his ingredients during a busy weekend (some say the Fourth of July weekend) when several Hollywood celebrities had escaped their dry nation to slake their thirst. Aiming to please his customers, Cardini prepared a salad at tableside to the delight of the guests. Using his flair for showmanship and some humble ingredients foraged from his depleted kitchen, Caesar whipped up the salad which would come to bear his name.

The salad is a relatively simple one for a chef to compile at a minimum of cost. Restaurants love this dish because it combines an instant name-recognition seller with a high profit margin. Cardini's original Caesar consisted of nothing more than uncut leaves of Romaine lettuce coupled with stale croutons quickly toasted from leftover bread heels and an easily-prepared dressing. Cardini's original dressing depended only on Worcestershire sauce for the anchovy flavor; I find that the anchovies add an additional element of flavor which probably would have been thrown into the dressing had they originally been in the kitchen in 1924.

The recipe below was modified from a Restaurant Service class recipe from my time at Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon. The proportions are for two servings. It can be prepared as listed below, at the tableside, or the dressing can be prepared ahead of time. Simply increase the ingredients proportionally for however many people you wish to serve.

CAESAR SALAD
YIELD: 2 servings

1 head Romaine lettuce, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. minced anchovies
1 tsp. coarse-cracked black peppercorns
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 egg yolk (pasteurize egg in 180 degree Fahrenheit water)
1 lemon, sliced in half and seeds removed (for juicing)
Extra-virgin olive oil to taste
1/4 cup grated Asiago cheese
Croutons to taste (see recipe below)

1. Combine black pepper, anchovies and 1 teaspoon olive oil in a small bowl. Paste together with the back of a spoon.
2. Add minced garlic and continue to paste together.
3. Stir in Dijon mustard.
4. Add Worcestershire sauce.
5. Blend in egg yolk.
6. Juice lemon into bowl; remove any seeds which may have fallen in with a fork.
7. Slowly drizzle olive oil into bowl while constantly stirring to emulsify oil into ingredients.
8. Once dressing begins to thicken, stop adding oil.
9. Add Romaine to bowl and toss together with dressing gently.
10. Add croutons and parmesan and toss again.
11. Plate and serve!

A note on croutons: Croutons are easy. Take any day-old loaf of bread, or even fresh slices, and cube to desired size (usually about 3/4" cubes). Toss with olive oil, minced garlic, and minced herbs (thyme, rosemary, oregano, marjoram are all safe choices) and place on a cookie sheet. Toast in a 300-degree oven, stirring every few minutes until golden brown. Croutons are as easy as that. Season them as you wish; be imaginative! And, after that first try, you will never buy factory-made croutons again!

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