Mom's Lemon Caesar Salad
The dressing is built in the serving bowl from a briefly coddled egg, anchovy and garlic, sharpened with a quarter cup of lemon juice. No mayonnaise, no bottled dressing, and torn sourdough croutons toasted with thyme.
Ingredients
The Sourdough Croutons
- 8 ounces day-old sourdough bread torn into 3/4-inch pieces, about 5 cups
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves roughly chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil for the croutons only
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
The Dressing and the Salad
- 1 large egg pasteurized if possible, at room temperature
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 2 fillets oil-packed anchovy drained
- 1/4 cup lemon juice from about 2 lemons, squeezed fresh
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil for the dressing only
- 2 heads romaine hearts about 1 1/2 pounds, torn into large pieces
- 2 ounces parmigiano reggiano shaved with a peeler, plus more at the table
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Small pot
- Mixing bowl
Instructions
Toast the Croutons
- Heat the oven to 375F. Tear the bread into rough 3/4-inch pieces, leaving the crusts on.
- Spread the pieces on a sheet pan, toss with the 3 tablespoons of olive oil, the thyme, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, and bake 18 to 20 minutes, shaking the pan once, until golden and crisp through. Cool on the pan.
Coddle the Egg
- Bring a small pot of water to a bare simmer, lower in the room-temperature egg on a spoon and leave it for 60 to 90 seconds, then lift it out. The outer white will be hazy and everything else still liquid.
Build the Dressing in the Bowl
- Crack the egg into a large salad bowl, scraping out anything clinging to the shell, then mash the anchovy fillets and garlic into it with a fork until it is a rough paste.
- Whisk in the lemon juice, red wine vinegar and salt until combined.
- Pour in the 1/2 cup of olive oil, the first few tablespoons almost drop by drop and the rest in a thin steady stream, whisking constantly, until the dressing turns opaque and thickens enough to hold brief tracks from the whisk. Taste and correct the salt; it should be sharp and slightly too seasoned on its own.
Toss and Serve
- Add the torn romaine and about two thirds of the croutons to the bowl and toss until every leaf is lightly coated, adding more dressing only if the leaves look dry.
- Scatter over the remaining croutons and the shaved parmesan, grind on plenty of black pepper, and serve immediately with the pepper grinder and extra cheese on the table.
Notes
Egg safety: a 60 to 90 second coddle warms the egg but does not pasteurize it. Use pasteurized shell eggs where you can. Anyone pregnant, very young, elderly or immunocompromised should use pasteurized eggs or make the mustard version below.
No egg: replace it with 1 teaspoon dijon mustard. The dressing is thinner and cleaner and holds perfectly well.
The oil is two separate amounts: 3 tablespoons for the croutons and 1/2 cup for the dressing. They are not interchangeable and half a cup is what makes the emulsion.
Add the first few tablespoons of dressing oil almost drop by drop. Rushing the start is the one reason these break. A broken dressing is rescued by whisking it slowly into a clean bowl holding 1 teaspoon of dijon.
Taste the dressing before the leaves go in. It should be aggressively sharp and a little too salty on its own.
Make-ahead: croutons up to a week in a tin. Dressing a few hours only. Toss at the last minute.
Nutrition values are an estimate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 548kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 26g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 893mg | Potassium: 480mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 8200IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 265mg | Iron: 3mg