What are you doing to my classic Caesar Salad? I like it on occasion, but many restaurant kitchens simply abuse the recipe. Either they use the wrong lettuce, the dressing is not up to par, or add too many croutons without enough zesty dressing to absorb. Nothing worse than a dry crouton! Have you noticed this?
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I can usually read the menu description and decide. Frequently no anchovy. Nope and Iām not even a HUGE fan of them.
Thereās no canonical recipe to abuse. If itās bad, send it back.
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Restaurant menus do not always describe dishes at length. Asking the waitperson may not work either. And, Robert, if you know Caesar salad there is an expectation as to how it shows up and tastesā¦
So send it back if itās wrong.
The wrong balance between dressing and croutons is sometimes just inconsistency in the kitchen. One place where Iāve had good Caesar salads many times served us one that was off recently. Lots of staffing issues these days.
Agreed. I donāt mind Kale or even kale in saladsā¦ but Kale the absolutely the WRONG green for a Caesar. Also, itās supposed to be croutonsā¦ not breadcrumbs. UGHā¦ UGH!!!
I love Caesar salad. Most Salad kit Caesars are terrible. Aldi has one that in order to save moneyā¦ uses iceburg!! Thank goodness I noticed this right away before even trying itā¦ My favorite kit is from Trader Joes, the Organic Cesar. Great dressing, good greens and the croutons are lovely.
I also love the Rosemary Croissant Croutons that TJs has. This is one of the better at home Caesar recipes I like. However, I donāt use the whole 1/2 cup of Parm. Itās too much Parm from the get go. I also like to sprinkle Parm on my Salad when itās served.
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Someone agrees with me. Check out Andrew Zimmern on this site:
If Zimmern posted something about Caesar salad, why not post a direct link?
āCaesar salad is one of those combinations thatās just insanely good,ā Andrew Zimmern says. āBut, Iād like to tell a lot of young chefs that you can open a restaurant without a Caesar salad on the menu.ā
The chef, restaurateur and television personality says it all comes down to freshness, starting with the dressing, which he stresses, āshould be made to order.ā
āIt should not be made in a five-gallon batch twice a week with an immersion wand with commercial oil,ā he says, adding that at home, he uses a big wooden salad bowl he doesnāt wash ā only treats ā and has had forever. He adds the egg yolks directly to the bowl, mashes in some anchovies with a fork, adds lemon juice then olive oil. āYou donāt emulsify those things together because the olive oil will turn bitter,ā he says.
Next, he adds lettuce (he strays from the classic romaine, opting for baby heads of gem lettuce due to its better flavor and texture) tosses the salad and adds cheese on top. Zimmern clarifies heās not against romaine and advises if youāre going to use it, opt for hearts of romaine and use the bigger crunchier ribs of it.
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Not that Iād make dressing for Caesar salad in advance, butIāve made salad dressing with olive oil and lemon juice hundreds of times and never noticed it getting bitter.