Community Corner
It's Too Hot To Cook, Whip Up Caesar Salad Instead
For those hot summer days when you just don't feel like turning on the oven, make your own fresh salad.
I know, I know, I said I wasn't a salad person. But I'm really trying to change that.
The way I've been changing my mind about salads is by making my own salads at home and loading them up with lots of fresh goodies.
While I've had Caesar salad many times and have made it at home, I never thought to make my own Caesar salad dressing. So I thought I'd give it a try. But there were two things I really wanted to omit. Egg yolk and anchovies. Could I make a creamy and authentic tasting Caesar salad without these? I gave it a shot and the dressing came out with as much tang as any other Caesar dressing I had tried previously. It was nice to fill up a large bowl with romaine, parmesan shavings and croutons and drizzle some homemade Caesar dressing all over the top. Make this a meal with some grilled chicken, steak or shrimp on the side for a summer evening dinner.
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Ingredients:
3 heads of romaine, chopped
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a bag of Caesar-style croutons
a block of parmesan cheese to shave
fresh chives
Dressing:
2 tbsps of mayonaise
2 tbsps of lemon juice
1 tbsbp of water
1 tsp of dijon mustard
1/4 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp of parmesan cheese, grated
2 whole garlic cloves, grated
salt and black pepper to taste
In a bowl, add the mayo, lemon juice, mustard and Worcestershire sauce then add the water. If you like your Caesar dressing to be super thick, omit the water but you may want to double the dressing recipe because the water helps thin the dressing so it coats more salad. Grate parmesan cheese and whole garlic cloves with a handheld grater. Add salt and black pepper to taste. You can omit the salt but definitely add the black pepper, freshly ground if you can.
Chop up the romaine hearts and get rid of the bottoms. Take your block of parmesan (what's left after you grated) and peel shavings off the block with a vegetable peeler. Add as much as you'd like! Toss the salad with the dressing. With some scissors, snip some fresh chives over the top. When plating a meal, add the dressed salad, top with croutons and a couple chives. Enjoy!
