Know Your Classics: Caesar Salad and How to Make It
Proof that improvising in the kitchen can also lead to something good: Caesar salad. Unexpected guests, an empty fridge, and yet: a classic was born.
Picture it: Mexico, 1924, during Prohibition. In Tijuana, just across the border from America, Italian immigrant Caesar Cardini runs a restaurant. That’s where Americans who are going completely crazy from Prohibition can stop for a drink—in other words, get very drunk. One evening, a few guests arrive late, already quite tipsy, and want something to eat. Caesar looks around the little kitchen: the supplies are basically gone, so what can he make? He quickly throws together a salad with some boiled eggs, a little garlic, bread croutons, and some Parmesan cheese. Well, that was all there was in the house, so what else could he do?
Legendary salad
That was the beginning of Caesar salad, the legendary salad. Not a complicated salad, because Caesar made it with leftovers from the fridge. The dressing is legendary: Caesar whisked together two egg yolks, a little olive oil, and some Worcestershire sauce. His brother later added anchovies, and that was a stroke of genius, so it’s now more or less standard.
Here’s how to make it:
- Make a purée of garlic and anchovies.
- Beat the egg yolks with the mustard. Add the garlic-and-anchovy mixture.
- While whisking, add the lemon juice and keep whisking until well combined.
- Then add the olive oil in a thin stream, while continuing to whisk.
- Next, add the sunflower oil just as carefully. Keep whisking.
- Stir in the finely grated Parmesan and some black pepper. Taste to see whether the dressing is well seasoned; add a little more salt, pepper, or lemon juice if needed.
Now make the salad: wash the lettuce and tear it into small pieces. Boil the eggs. Make croutons from bread by toasting them with a little oil in the oven or frying them in a pan until crisp.
Peel the eggs and cut them into quarters. Arrange the lettuce on plates and drizzle with some dressing. Divide the eggs and bread croutons among the plates, then grate some Parmesan over the top.
