Original Caesar Salad

There are many claims as to who invented Caesar salad.

According to Caesar's daughter Rosa, on July 4th 1924 the salad was created on a busy weekend at Caesar's Restaurant. It is said that Caesar was short of supplies and didn't want to disappoint the customers so he concocted this salad with what was on hand. To add flair to this he prepared it at the table.

This story is not certifiable however but it very well could have happened. I can vouch for the fact that this happens frequently in the restaurant business. The salad soon became a hit and people came to the restaurant just to get the salad. In particular the Hollywood set loved Caesars I got this recipe from the owner of an Italian restaurant in Tijuana that Monica and I frequented whenever we were in Tijuana

Original Caesar Salad

Giorgio Celmo

 Ingredients:

Separated leaves of 2 large heads of romaine lettuce

2 large cloves of garlic, pressed in a garlic press

salt

one can of anchovies, drained

3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

3 limes

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 coddled eggs (i.e., boiled for exactly one minute)

Worcestershire sauce

hot pepper sauce

2 cups of freshly toasted croutons     

½ cup parmesan cheese

peppercorns in a grinder                     

Method:

Separate the romaine lettuce leaves, wash them gently, and reserve 6 to 8 whole unblemished leaves per person for the salad. Pat or shake the leaves dry and refrigerate until it’s time to make the salad. In a large bowl combine the garlic, half the anchovies and salt; press them together with a fork until the anchovies are broken up. Add the olive oil. Whisk in the juice from three limes use a cloth to catch the seeds). Add the Dijon mustard. Add only the yolks from the two coddled eggs (discard the whites). Throw in a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce and a dash of pepper sauce. Mix the dressing together. Now throw in the romaine lettuce leaves, scooping them in the dressing until they are well covered. Throw in the croutons, sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and grind some pepper on top of the bowl of salad. If you like, you can top each serving with two or three of the remaining anchovies.