Italian immigrant Caesar Cardini invented the Caesar in 1924 in Mexico during the prohibition, when supplies were depleted and he had to make a dish with limited ingredients for the customers in his restaurant.
This salad is not only on my blog because it is a great classic recipe but because I made it for a certain special person who loved it and I know will be pleased I mentioned him….HB.
Serves 2 but you can double or triple the amounts depending on how many you are feeding.
Ingredients:
1/2 clove of garlic
3 eggs or 12 quails eggs
A loaf of sour dough bread
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 tablespoons of good quality Mayo
3 tablespoons of Greek yogurt (or Alpro Greek yogurt or Oatly creme fraische)
3 anchovies fillets tinned in oil and drained (or a tablespoon of vegetarian fish sauce)
2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan (there are plant based versions) plus more for grating on top of salad
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cos lettuce
How:
Heat the oven to 200°C.
To make the croutons, cut the loaf in half and tear chunks of bread from the centre leaving the crust behind and place the chunks onto a baking sheet, making sure none are very big. When all the bread is on the baking sheet drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt. Bake for about 7 minutes or until crispy and golden. Leave to cool.
Into a food processor, put the garlic, anchovies, yogurt, pepper, the two tablespoons of Parmesan, the mayo and the lemon juice. Blitz until smooth.
Boil standard size eggs for 5 minutes for soft boiled or 9 mins for hard boiled, and refresh in cold water till cooled and then peel, if using quail eggs boil for 2 minutes 15 seconds for soft boiled and plunge into cold water to stop them cooking further or boil them for four minutes for hard boiled. Then peel.
Cut the lettuce in half, lengthways and place on plates with the cut side uppermost.
Spread the dressing on the lettuce with a spoon, then add the croutons and eggs which have been halved.
Grate or shave Parmesan over the top and serve.