Name: Caesar Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 28 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 6 anchovy fillets; 1 clove garlic; 2 egg yolks; 1 tsp Dijon mustard; 2 tbsp lemon juice; 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce; 3/4 cup neutral oil; 200 g stale sourdough; 3 tbsp olive oil; 2 heads romaine lettuce; 60 g Parmigiano Reggiano; to taste black pepper

1 Mash to a paste 4m

2 Whisk the oil in slowly until thick 5m Drop by drop at first. Add it fast and the emulsion never forms.

4 Toss the leaves in the dressing, then add the croutons 3m Croutons last, or they soften before they reach the table.

1 clove

1 tsp

2 tbsp

1 tsp

3/4 cup

200 g

3 Fry in olive oil until golden and crunchy 8m Fried, not baked. Baked croutons are dry all the way through.

3 tbsp

2 heads

60 g

to taste

Emulsion, not vinaigrette

This is a mayonnaise with anchovy in it. Egg yolk contains lecithin, a far stronger emulsifier than the mustard in a vinaigrette, which is why the dressing is thick enough to cling to a leaf. The rule is the same: oil slowly, whisking constantly, or it breaks.

Notes

Raw yolks. If that is a concern, use pasteurised eggs — the texture is identical.
Dry the leaves obsessively. Water on a leaf repels an oil-based dressing and pools in the bottom of the bowl.
Torn bread, not cubed. Irregular edges catch more dressing and fry crisper.

Method

Mash to a paste

Whisk the oil in slowly until thick

Fry in olive oil until golden and crunchy

Toss the leaves in the dressing, then add the croutons

Emulsion, not vinaigrette

Notes