Let’s talk about my love for Caesar salad. It has now turned into an obsession and I’m fully an addict. Any restaurant I visit, if it’s on the menu, I need it with a glass of wine on the side. I won’t lie, not every one gets this salad right, but when they do, I get giddy like a kid on Halloween; its a real treat. However, I don’t want to go to a restaurant every time I crave my favorite salad.

This recipe I’m sharing today, didn’t come easy. This was my third attempt at making this dressing and that took a couple of years. My first attempt was a few years back and it turned out way too thick and lumpy and frankly didn’t taste much like Caesar dressing. That attempt was also during the time when Caesar salad didn’t have me in a chokehold. I liked it, but I wasn’t too inclined to reattempt it anytime soon.

Then, came December 2018, when I fell in love with Caesar salad. While on a trip to Minneapolis, I wrestled with the worst bout of food poisoning. I couldn’t keep anything down. Not even water. It lasted five painfully sick hours during our first night on vacation. What a way to start a trip right? The next day, I still had no appetite and felt weak. When I finally felt a twinge of an appetite that night, I wanted salad. A really cold, refreshing salad. I called room service to order the hotel’s Caesar salad and my world changed. I don’t know if it was because I was famished and in serious need of nourishment, or if it was really that good. I’m going with the latter.

My second attempt was closer to what I wanted but the raw garlic was too pungent and spicy. Again, I used grated parmesan from a shaker, so the end result was on the thick side. Not as thick as the previous attempt, but still not what I was looking for.

The first two attempts, I followed recipes from some cookbooks I had lying around the house. The third attempt. Well, that was all me. I now had a foundation of what the dressing needed, but knew what I liked and didn’t like. All I have to say is, ingredients matter. Especially in simple recipes where each ingredient holds a key that could make or break the dish. Through my trials, this is what I learned:

I like a creamy and smooth dressing. That cannot be achieved using grated parmesan, such as Kraft. Freshly grated parm is the way to go. Get one from the fancy cheese section of your grocery store because the quality of cheese also matters.
Do not use olive oil. I didn’t mention it earlier, but I used olive oil for the second attempt. Let’s just say, you could tell. Normally, I love a heavy drizzle of olive oil to finish a dish, but used in this dressing, it overpowers the rest of the components. Also, once chilled in the refrigerator, the olive oil solidifies, making it chunky. You need a neutral oil. I used grape seed oil. That, along with the freshly grated parmesan cheese made for a silky and creamy finish. It didn’t get thick after chilling in the fridge either.
I really don’t like the taste of raw garlic. I know I’ve said this in a previous post, but this is the recipe that really made me realize that. I roast garlic oftenIn general, roasted garlic is good way to amplify a dish. When used in this dressing, the sweetness of the slow cooked garlic compliments the cheese bringing out the nuttiness and salt a little more.
- how to make roasted garlic: cut a half inch off the top of the head of garlic exposing the individual cloves. place the garlic bulb in the center of a small piece of aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of salt. wrap the foil loosely around the garlic. in an oven or toaster oven, bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-45 minutes until the garlic has turned a golden brown and the cloves have softened. after removing the garlic from the oven, let it cool completely before using.
Anchovy paste works just as well as using anchovy filets. And it saves me the hassle of crushing the anchovies into a paste myself.
Hot mustard over dijon mustard! (I used Löwensenf brand hot mustard). Dijon mustard is a very good substitute, but hot mustard provides a funk and edge to this dressing that wakes up your tastebuds. And if you’re worried that the mustard will be too strong. The lemon juice will mellow out the mustard bite.

Now, with all that being said and having the confidence that this is a throughly tested recipe, let’s get on with it and make the perfect Caesar salad dressing.

Ceasar Salad Dressing

Yields: 1 cup

Prep Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

2/3 cup neutral oil (I used grapeseed oil)
6 cloves roasted garlic (mashed into a paste)
1-2 tsp anchovie paste
2 tsp hot mustard
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
juice of 1 lemon

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Instructions

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, garlic paste, anchovie paste, hot mustard and lemon juice.
While continuing to whisk, slowly drizzle in the oil to emulsify the dressing.
Lastly, mix in the parmesan cheese and taste for salt.
Serve over ice cold romaine lettuce, for a refreshing spring salad and enjoy!

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