Best Caesar Salad from Our Community Table

Greetings, Our Community Table Readers

Caesar Salad is this month’s exciting recipe share, and it’s great!

I love a good Caesar Salad. Yet, I have often struggled with it. The recipes usually require making mayonnaise before adding the other ingredients that make it “The Caesar.” In my experience, making mayonnaise is a 50-50 proposition. Blending the ingredients with a whisk by hand or in a food processor, then slowly, oh so slowly—but not too slowly—but not too quickly—but not too slowly, drizzling in the olive oil, hoping that when the last drops of oil fall, it has somehow managed to emulsify into a luxurious creamy mayonnaise of dreams as opposed to a disappointing, unusable blob.

So, when I happened upon the recipe I am sharing with you, I could not wait to try it. And it is excellent! Food blogger Chungha Rhee wrote it for the Damn Delicious food blog, which I know to have great recipes, and it’s one that she has made with store-bought mayonnaise.

I recently served it at a dinner party, and someone told me it was the best Caesar Salad she had ever had. Yep, it is that good and so easy.

So, this summer, as you plan your dinner party or barbecue or find yourself asked to bring a salad to someone else’s event, perhaps you will consider this beauty of a salad.

You will not be disappointed.

Cristyne Porile
Community Contributor

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BEST CAESAR SALAD WITH HOMEMADE CROUTONS
4 SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE CROUTONS

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

• 1 clove garlic, grated

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 4 cups ciabatta bread (or any good Italian bread) cubes

FOR THE DRESSING

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise

• 1/4 cup buttermilk

• 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

• 1 clove garlic, grated

• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

FOR THE SALAD

• 2 heads romaine, roughly chopped

• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

INSTRUCTIONS:

FOR THE CROUTONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Whisk together olive oil, parsley, and garlic, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. In a large bowl, gently toss the bread cubes and olive oil mixture until the bread cubes are all nicely coated.

4. Spread bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and place into the oven. Bake until crisp and golden, about 13-15 minutes; set aside.

FOR THE DRESSING:

1. Whisk together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, Parmesan, garlic, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce in a medium bowl—season with salt and pepper to taste.

FOR THE SALAD:

1. To assemble the salad, place the romaine in a large bowl and pour the dressing along with the ¼ cups of parmesan cheese over it.

2. Toss gently but thoroughly, using as much or as little dressing as you prefer.

3. Add the croutons and gently toss again with an extra dusting of parmesan, if desired.