Return of the Caesar

This will be the second time I've posted this recipe, but I don't want you to miss it, since today I made a Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad and it hit the spot. Now I know that is the opposite end of the spectrum from avant-garde, GCCS being ubiquitous these days, from McDonald's to the haute-est retro steakhouses, but the difference between a vibrant, punchy, fresh-tasting CS, and one that is bland and greasy, is in the dressing. THIS is the dressing you want: lemony, garlicky and full of depth and flavor. On a warm evening, a moderate amount of this dressing, tossed with cold, crisp romaine lettuce and fresh grated Parmesan (put that green can away before I smack someone!), eaten with grilled chicken from the barbecue, will revive your sense of what this salad can be.

I posted this once here, in 2007, and it's true that I did learn to make it in a five-gallon bucket in Michael Chiarello's Tra Vigne kitchen, under the tutelage of the impish cold-side wizard Peggy. It is still the best, the original, authentic Caesar salad dressing. If you must, due to health reasons, omit the egg yolk, the dressing still tastes ok with the Dijon as the only binder, but take care when you emulsify that you go slowly with the oil at first so that it doesn't break.

A couple of things you need to know about this recipe: one, it makes about a half-pint of dressing, which is a lot. Be prepared to share, or to have more than one salad in a week. And two, both people had better partake. As with all things garlic and anchovy-y, this dressing packs a serious wallop in the breath department later. But raw garlic is good for you, and it's soooo delicious. I used Meyer Lemon juice, so I added a full tablespoon more for the right amount of tartness. I like my Caesar dressing lemony.

This was also my Grandma’s favorite Caesar salad, reason enough to justify a trip down from Tahoe just to eat at the restaurant.

Caesar Salad
(From the Tra Vigne Cookbook, "Piadine with Blue Cheese Caesar Salad" by Michael Chiarello and Penelope Wisner. Blue cheese, though I love it dearly, is a terrible waste of the subtle and not so subtle flavors in this dressing. I prefer the original recipe.)

1T Champagne vinegar
2T Fresh lemon juice
1 ½ tsp minced garlic
1 egg yolk
1 tb dijon mustard
Dash Worcestershire sauce
6 anchovy fillets (buy the filets in a jar of oil rather than the can-- they are much neater and easier to store, and keep almost indefinitely in the refrigerator)
Pinch fresh ground black pepper
1 cup pure olive oil
2 tb freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus more for sprinkling on salad

Using a blender, food processor or stick blender, mince the garlic, then add the vinegar, lemon juice, egg yolk, mustard, Worcestershire, anchovies and pepper and blend until well mixed.

With the machine running, add the olive oil, at first by drops and then in a thin, steady stream until all of the oil is incorporated.

Pulse in the finely grated parmesan

Refrigerate in a covered container until ready to use. Toss with chilled, chopped hearts of romaine, and extra parmesan until the greens are evenly but thinly coated.

Do not overdress; keep a bowl on the table for those who like more. Top with chicken if you like. Or dip raw vegetables in it, or make a warm/cold piadini (a folded flatbread sandwich) with it, using some Trader Joe's raw pizza doughs cooked up on the barbecue grill or in the oven, or soft, storebought flatbread. Trader Joe's also has a good one.

Note: If you have no food processor or blender, chop the ingredients very fine, then whisk them together with a wire wisk, or pummel them using a mortar and pestle. Emulsions are a little tougher to do with a whisk, but that's the way they were done forever and ever, so just roll a damp towel into a tube and wrap around the base of a stainless or glass bowl, tilted slightly, so you'll have two free hands, and whisk away, remembering to go very slowly at first with the oil, and you'll be just fine.

Enjoy!