Go Back
Print

The Ultimate Caesar Salad, Really

A creamy, tangy, garlicky dressing over a classic salad, with the most brilliant croutons ever!

Course Salad
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

Dressing

  • 3/4 cup EV olive oil
  • 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
  • 4-5 garlic cloves roughly chopped
  • 3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1/8 tsp Worcestershire Sauce or anchovy paste both are optional, but do make a difference!

Salad and Croutons

  • 2 heads of Romaine hearts or one large head of Romaine lettuce
  • 6 rashers double smoked bacon or any good quality bacon
  • 2-4 thick slices of fresh sourdough bread , enough to make about 2 cups of cubes
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • hunk of parmesan cheese for shaving over the finished salad

Instructions

  1. Take all the dressing ingredients and place them into a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. You should not need salt since the parmesan and Worcestershire sauce add enough already) Set aside or even store in the fridge till needed.  Can be made in advance the day before.

  2. Wash, dry and tear the larger leaves of Romaine, add to large bowl.

    Leave the smaller leaves intact if desired, and add to the bowl.

    Take a paper towel and dampen just a touch with cold water. Drape over the bowl and place in the fridge.

  3. Remove the crusts from the sourdough slices.

    Take the slices of sourdough and cut into 3/4" lengths. Take each of these and tear off into 3/4" or so bite sized pieces. Be sure not to use a knife- you want the natural, jagged edges that come with hand tearing. Lay all out on a plate or tray to dry ever so slightly while you work on the dressing and bacon.

  4. Place the bacon rashers in a sauté pan and sauté at medium heat until cooked through, but not dry crisp. Remove to a paper towel to drain.

  5. In the pan, remove all but 1-2 tbsp of the bacon fat. There should be enough to coat the entire bottom of the pan without being too deep. Sprinkle the thyme and oregano evenly over the oil.  If there isn't enough ft, supplement with olive oil.

  6. Raising the heat to medium-high, add the cut up bread to cover the pan in one layer.

    Leave to fry for about 40 seconds. Start checking and tossing, so that all sides get equally crisped up. There should be browning, but not burning.

    Remove when all are crisped up. This should not take longer than 3-4 minutes total. Remove to paper towel and then a bowl.

  7. When the bacon has cooled somewhat, tear into bite sized pieces.

  8. ASSEMBLE

    Take the greens from the fridge. Add 2/3 of the the croutons and 2/3 of the bacon. Add 2-3 tbsp of dressing per person=1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of the dressing. (this will be determined by how wet or sloppy you like your dressing!) Start off with the 1/2 cup and see what happens after tossing gently but thoroughly.

  9. Place into a serving bowl. Top with the remaining croutons and bacon.

    Using a vegetable peeler, shave parmesan cheese over the top of the salad (don't be too skimpy!)

Recipe Notes

The recipe for this dressing makes about 1.5 cups. It will last a couple of weeks in the fridge.