New Caesar Salad Recipes

Steps:

• Make the crostini: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush both sides of bread slices with oil. Sprinkle with grated cheese, and season with salt and pepper. Bake until crisp and golden, about 10 minutes. Top each with an anchovy.
• Make the dressing: Combine garlic, egg yolk, grated cheese, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Gradually whisk in oil.
• Make the salad: Toss escarole with dressing. Top with cheese. Spoon salad onto crostini.

Steps:

• Put 2 tablespoons of the oil in a skillet large enough to hold the bread in a single layer and turn heat to medium. When oil shimmers, add bread and sprinkle with salt and pepper; brown lightly on all sides, adding a little more oil if necessary. Remove and set aside.
• Rub the inside of a salad bowl with the garlic clove; discard it. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Pierce a tiny hole in the broad end of each egg with a pin or needle and boil them for 60 to 90 seconds; they will just begin to firm up. Crack them into the salad bowl, being sure to scoop out the white that clings to the shell.
• Beat eggs with a fork. Gradually add lemon juice and 6 tablespoons oil, beating all the while. Stir in anchovies and Worcestershire. Taste and add salt if needed, and lots of pepper. Toss well with lettuce; top with Parmesan and croutons; toss again at table. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• 1. The Dressing
• A great Caesar salad gets its swagger from a great dressing. Squeamish about raw egg yolks and anchovies? Sorry. Yolks are what give richness to the emulsion, while anchovies provide a briny blast (and that whole umami thing). Here's our go-to recipe: Chop together 6 anchovy fillets packed in oil, 1 small garlic clove, and a pinch of kosher salt. Use the side of a knife blade to mash into a paste, then scrape into a medium bowl. Whisk in 2 large egg yolks*, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, and 3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard. Adding drop by drop to start, gradually whisk in 2 tablespoons olive oil, then 1/2 cup vegetable oil; whisk until dressing is thick and glossy. Whisk in 3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan. Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired. Can be made 1 day ahead.
• 2. The Croutons
• Make your own. Tearing, not cutting, the bread ensures nooks and crannies that catch the dressing and add texture. Toss 3 cups torn 1" pieces country bread with 3 tablespoons olive oil on a baking sheet; season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake at 375°F, tossing occasionally, until golden, 10-15 minutes.
• 3. The Lettuce
• Use whole leaves from 3 romaine hearts to feed 6 people. They provide the ideal mix of crispness, surface area, and structure.
• 4. The Cheese
• Caesars crowned with a mound of grated Parmesan may look impressive, but all that clumpy cheese mutes the dressing. Instead, use a vegetable peeler to thinly shave a modest amount on top for little salty bursts.
• 5. The Assembly
• Skip the tongs. Use your hands to gently toss the lettuce, croutons, and dressing, then top off with the shaved Parm.

Steps:

• Make the torn croutons: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove the crusts from the bread, then cut into inch-thick slices. Cut each slice into inch-wide strips, and tear each strip into inch-size pieces. Toss with olive oil to coat them evenly, then spread pieces out in a single layer on a baking sheet. (Use a second sheet if needed to prevent crowding.) Toast for 18 to 22 minutes, checking them after 8 minutes. Rotate pans, switch their oven positions and use a metal spatula to turn the croutons so they brown evenly. Bake until they're golden brown and crunchy on the outside, with just a tiny bit of chew on the inside. Season with a light sprinkling of salt if needed. Use immediately; store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
• Meanwhile, make mayonnaise: Place the egg yolk in a deep, medium metal or ceramic bowl. Dampen a tea towel and roll it up into a long log, then form it into a ring on the counter. Place the bowl inside the ring; this will hold the bowl in place while you whisk. (And if whisking by hand is simply out of the question, use a blender, stand mixer or food processor.)
• Use a ladle or bottle with a nozzle to drip in the neutral oil a drop at a time, while whisking the oil into the yolk. Go. Really. Slowly. And don't stop whisking. Once you've added about half the oil, you can start adding a little more oil at once. You want the mayonnaise to be stiff, but if it thickens so much that it's impossible to whisk, add a teaspoon or so of lemon juice to help thin it out.
• Prepare the dressing: Coarsely chop the anchovies and then pound them into a fine paste using a mortar and pestle. The more you break them down, the better the dressing will be.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the anchovies, mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, Parmesan, Worcestershire and pepper. Taste with a leaf of lettuce, then add salt and adjust the acid (the lemon juice and vinegar) as needed, or add a little of each salty ingredient (Worcestershire, anchovies, Parmesan) to the dressing, bit by bit. Adjust the acid, then taste and adjust the salty ingredients until you reach the ideal balance of salt, fat and acid.
• Use your hands to toss the greens and torn croutons with an abundant amount of dressing in a large bowl to coat evenly. Garnish with Parmesan and black pepper and serve immediately. Refrigerate leftover dressing, covered, for up to 3 days.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Spread the bread out on a baking tray and bake for about 12 mins until golden and crisp, then leave to cool.
• Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine the 10 anchovy fillets with the vinegar, mustard and garlic, and purée until smooth. Add the egg and pulse until just incorporated. With the machine on, gradually drizzle in the vegetable oil until it emulsifies to create a creamy dressing. Scrape the dressing into a bowl and stir in the cheese. Season, cover with cling film and put in the fridge until well chilled and thickened, at least 30 mins.
• In a very large bowl, toss the chilled lettuce leaves with half the dressing, gently rubbing the dressing onto the leaves with your hands. (Save the remaining dressing for another salad or to serve with grilled chicken.) Divide the dressed lettuce between chilled bowls and scatter the croutons on top. Garnish with anchovy fillets and serve right away, passing round the extra cheese at the table.