My family loves Caesar Salad. There are many caesar salad dressing recipes out there, some are thick others are thinner. I do not like the dressing to be thick like mayonnaise but I do like it to be creamy. The trick is to whisk the egg, mustard, anchovies and garlic together before slowly adding the oil while continuing to whisk. Caesar dressing should have lots of flavor. Do not be concerned with the anchovies in the recipe, they are there to add salt and a different layer of flavor. I like to use anchovy paste instead of fillets. I think that it blends better in the dressing and is much easier to work with. The anchovies will not make the dressing fishy, they are essential in making a true authentic caesar salad.
It is much better to make your dressing rather than buying one in a bottle. The freshness of the ingredients adds to the overall flavor of the dressing. Caesar dressing has quite a few ingredients but most of them are probably already in your pantry. I always keep garlic cloves, anchovy paste, eggs and parmesan cheese in my fridge. You can always whip up something to eat as long as you have these staples in your refrigerator.
This Caesar dressing recipe will work well with romaine lettuce but I love it with warm brussel sprouts. I serve the Warm Brussel Caesar Salad as a side dish at dinner but you can also serve it as an appetizer. You can make the dressing ahead of time and keep it in your refrigerator for up to 5 days. Just store in a glass jar.
Warm Brussel Sprout Caesar Salad
Ingredients
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 small garlic cloves minced
- 1½ tsp anchovy paste or 4 fillets minced
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup light olive oil or safflower oil
- 3 cups shredded brussel sprouts
- 1 tbsp light olive oil for sauteeing sprouts
- 4 tbsp fresh grated parmesan cheese
Croutons
- 2 cups day old bread cubed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
Instructions
- whisk egg yolk, garlic, anchovy and mustard together
- whisk in Worcestershire sauce, lemon, salt and pepper
- continue to whisk and slowly add both oils in a slow steady stream
- whisk until emulsified
- add 2 tblsp grated parmesan
- add 1 tbsp oil to a pan on medium heat
- saute shredded brussel sprouts for 5 minutes
- pour dressing in pan and mix.
- turn burner to low and cover pan for 5 minutes until brussel sprouts are bright green and soft to bite. Do not over cook
- put brussel sprouts in bowl and top with croutons and remaining 2 tbsp grated parmesan
Croutons
- toss bread cubes with oil, salt and pepper and place on baking sheet
- bake for 10 minutes at 350 until golden