August 24, 2015

caesar salad & sauerkraut


This weekend my fella had a craving for Caesar salad. It was so intense that he almost bought a "salad-in-a-bag" version at the supermarket before I stopped him. Caesar salad is a classic that I love having almost anytime but the strange truth is that I have never made it with a dressing from scratch. Silly me. It is so ridiculously simple and delicious that I had to share it with you here.

INGREDIENTS
  • bread
  • romaine lettuce (1 head will suffice)
  • anchovies (half a tin or 6 anchovy slices)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 egg yolks
  • juice of 1 small lemon
  • tablespoon of dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup of olive oil
  • medium - large clove of garlic minced
  • fresh cracked pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
 1. Tear the bread into bite sized pieces, place in bowl, sprinkle with a bit of olive oil, toss and toast on a baking sheet in a 375* oven for about 10 minutes. I used a lonely sandwich roll we had sitting the fridge that needed to be used.
 2. While the bread toasts, cut the romaine once lengthwise and then chop up each half into bite-sized pieces. 
 3. Dice anchovies and place them into a mixing bowl. Add salt and crushed garlic and mix thoroughly.
 4. Whisk in egg yolks. Once incorporated add mustard and lemon juice.
 5. Drip in olive oil slowly, whisking constantly to incorporate. 
 6. Continue whisking until dressing becomes thick and glossy.

I poured the dressing over the chopped romaine and lightly tossed it with the toasted bread and a handful of cherry tomatoes, giving a few healthy turns from the pepper mill before serving. You could also top it with shaved parmesan here too. A freshly made, dressing from scratch, Caesar salad just can not be beat. It is likely to become a staple in my salad repertoire.

In the past week I not only started my first sourdough starter and batch of red wine vinegar, I took my first stab at fermenting by starting a batch of sauerkraut. I have been decidedly intimidated by the process but am trying to add more fermented foods into my diet. I finally got over my fear and followed the advice and recipe of the lovely and talented Cindy O'Beirn of The Cob Shop. With a little salt and a lot of cabbage you will have a delicious batch of healthy veg in as little as 1 week!

1 comment:

Kathy said...

Well done! Will need a follow up on how delicious everything was!