You can not like every dish. Even if you work at a Michelin star restaurant or if you are a home cook just like me. There are some dishes that you can make and taste, but after tasting you don’t like some element of the dish. I’d always had this with this dish I will describe today, until a few years ago. I liked every element of this dish separate, except for the sauce. Nevertheless, this dish is very popular as a starter at a restaurant. This time it’s not kaiserschmarrn or Bruschetta. I am of course talking about a salad. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how to make Caesar Salad.
What is the definition of Caesar Salad
The meaning of Caesar Salad is:
”The Caesar Salad is a salad based on romaine lettuce, croutons and a dressing”.
Caesar Salad
The name says it all, it is a salad. The story goes that it was named after Julius Ceasar. He was a Roman writer, politician, general and later Emperor of the Roman Empire. Yet this story is not entirely true, although it is a beautiful story. The dish is named after Caesar Cardini. Cardini owned a hotel and restaurant and was the Chef Kok in Mexico. At one point during his work it was particularly busy. Customers had ordered a salad, but the ingredients needed for the salad were no longer available. Out of necessity Cardini came up with a salad that people liked. They came back to ask specifically about this salad. At that time, the salad became a regular part of the menu and gained much popularity. This salad is especially popular in America and Canada.
The original salad as made by Caesar Cardini consists of a maximum of 8 ingredients:
- Romaine Lettuce
- Croutons
- Garlic
- Parmesan Cheese
- Egg Yolk
- Worcester Sauce
- Olive Oil
- Lemon Juice
That’s it. If you want to add chicken fillet or tomatoes that’s an option. The authentic Caesar Salad doesn’t contain these two ingredients.
Making Caesar Salad
You can easily make a Caesar salad if you have all the ingredients. There is an option to make your own croutons and the sauce. If you want to know how read further otherwise you can skip this first two blocks and make a head start for the ingredients list.
How to make CroutonsÂ
The easiest way is to buy croutons in the supermarket. Still, they can be as tasty as you make them yourself. To make your own croutons you need the following ingredients: baguette or bread, olive oil, garlic, Parmesan cheese. The first step is to cut the baguette / bread so that you get squares. You put the square pieces in the bowl. You then add the minced garlic, olive oil and shredded parmesan cheese to this bowl. Mix everything together well. Bake a baking tray with parchment paper. Place the pieces on the baking paper. Heat the oven to 180 degrees. When the oven is properly preheated, put the baking tray in the oven for 10-12 minutes. After 10 minutes, check if the croutons are as crispy as you would like. Do you want it longer, no problem! Every oven is different!
Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing
Just like the croutons, you can easily make the sauce. To make this sauce you need a bowl and the following ingredients: salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, dijon, egg yolk and grated parmigiano reggiano. You mix the ingredients together and depending on how you want the sauce you can choose to use more or less oil. After tasting the sauce you can always season it with some extra pepper or salt.
How to make Caesar Salad
Above I have already explained how to make the caesar salad different parts. Below I will briefly describe it in its entirety:
- Cut the baguette in squares
- Put the baguettes squares in a bowl
- Add the minced garlic, olive oil and shredded Parmesan, pepper and salt to the bowl
- Mix everything together
- Preheat the oven for 180 degrees celcius
- Take a baking plate with baking paper
- Add the baguette squares on the baking paper. Give every square enough space
- Bake the baguette for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown
- Take the baguettes out its time to start with the sauce. Grab a bowl and add salt, pepper, olive oil, minced garlic, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, dijon, egg yolk and grated Parmesan cheese.
- Mix everything together.
- Taste the sauce. You can add more salt, pepper and olive oil if you like.
- The next step is to prepare the romaine lettuce. Take the root off and take the crispy center layers.
- Put the romaine lettuce layers in the bowl with the sauce. Mix everything together.
- Add on a plate the lettuce layers and the croutons. You made yourself an authentic Caesar Salad!
Caesar Salad Ingredients
To make this fantastic starter you need a couple of ingredients. These ingredients are:
- Romaine lettuce.
- Croutons: bread or baguette, garlic, olive oil, Parmesan cheese
- Dressing: salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, dijon, egg yolk and Parmesan cheese.You can find the recipe with the exact ingredients below. If you are interested in cooking videos you can watch my YouTube Channel! The photo below is an example with chicken and tomatoes. These ingredients are optional.
Caesar Salad
Equipment
- Bowl
- Baking tray
Ingredients
Main
- 1 Romaine Lettuce
Croutons
- 1 Baguette
- Olive Oil
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 20 grams Parmesan Cheese
- Salt
- Pepper
Dressing
- 1 clove Garlic
- 2 grams Dijon
- 13 grams Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 Lemon Juice
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 60 grams Parmesan cheese
- 59 ml Olive Oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- The first step is to cut the baguette in squares.
- Put the baguettes squares in a bowl.
- Add the minced garlic, olive oil and shredded Parmesan to the bowl.
- Mix everything together. Preheat the oven for 180 degrees celcius.
- Take a baking plate with baking paper. Add the baguette squares on the baking paper.
- Give every square enough space. Bake the baguette for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Take the baguettes out its time to start with the sauce.
- Grab a bowl and add salt, pepper, olive oil, minced garlic, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, dijon, egg yolk and grated Parmesan cheese.
- Mix everything together. Taste the sauce. You can add more salt, pepper and olive oil if you like.
- The next step is to prepare the romaine lettuce. Take the root off and take the crispy center layers.
- Put the romaine lettuce layers in the bowl with the sauce. Mix everything together.
- Add on a plate the lettuce layers and the croutons. You made yourself an authentic Caesar Salad!
Video
Notes
- After tasting the sauce you can decide to add more Parmesan, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, salt or pepper.Â
Nutrition
FAQ Caesar Salad
Below you can find the most frequently asked questions:
What is Caesar Salad?
The Caesar Salad is a salad based on romaine lettuce, croutons and a dressing.
Which ingredients do I need?
You need the following ingredients: Romaine lettuce. For the croutons you need: bread or baguette, garlic, olive oil and Parmesan cheese. For the dressing you need salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, dijon, egg yolk and Parmesan cheese.
How long does it take to make?
To make this wonderful starter you need 25 minutes