Overthinking Classics: Caesar Salad

hi i'm susan keith from rhubarb cod and today i'm overthinking caesar salad like most north american salad recipes the caesar salad hails from a hotel the hotel caesar in tijuana mexico to be exact the salad was created by cesar cardini who owned and operated restaurants in the u.s and mexico he originally expanded his business to mexico in an effort to escape the restrictions brought on by prohibition the story goes the salad was created on july 4th 1924 when a horde of customers entered the lo

bby of the hotel caesar the kitchen was low on supplies so cardini freestyled the caesar salad into existence with what he had on hand and in a fit of theatrics he prepared it tableside we of course don't know if any of this is true or not a number of people have come forward throughout the years claiming to be the salad's real creator including members of cardini's original staff but that's not what we're here to debate we're here to create the best possible caesar salad so let's call this what

it is a very good story and press on i thought this episode of overthinking classics would dovetail nicely with the previous one for those of you who missed it the last overthinking classics covered the ins and outs of roast chicken and that episode coupled with this one gives birth to yet another classic totally worth overthinking the chicken caesar salad make them both in one night i double dog dare you now the caesar salad i grew up with deviates from the original in quite a few ways so whil

e i like to keep things as classic as possible when writing recipes for this series i also like to let my nostalgia drive a little so i'm sure you'll forgive me a few deviations okay we're going to start by making the dressing and i like starting here because it's the most time consuming portion of the recipe and it can be made up to five days in advance plus you can make it without any added time pressure which is a very good thing when you're handling emulsions we're going to start by mincing

one clove of garlic take your time to mince it good and fine that rhymed it didn't actually realize that rhymes when i wrote it congratulations next we're going to do the same to two anchovy fillets now interestingly the original recipe didn't contain actual anchovy that was a later development the original got its anchovy flavor from worcestershire sauce so if canned fish wigs you out you can sub in one tablespoon of worcestershire sauce and claim authenticity i quite like the flavor of anchovi

es so i'm using the fillets if the smell of anchovies puts you off i will say one thing in the fish's defense anchovies are certainly punchy on their own but when they're in something like a caesar dressing there's so much more going on that they more or less fade into the background it's more of a low growl of a mommy rather than stinky fish supremacy so bear that in mind okay so now we're going to transfer our garlic and anchovies to a comically large bowl i like to use a large bowl when i'm m

aking caesar dressing from scratch it requires a lot of aggressive whisking and i don't really want to worry about spilling when my forearm feels like it's ready to fall off to the garlic and anchovies we're going to add a quarter teaspoon of salt mash it into a paste once the paste forms it's time to add your egg yolk now let's talk about the egg i like to use a raw pasteurized egg yolk but i understand that wigs some people out if you're not into using raw egg you can cuddle the egg first inst

ead or you can omit the egg and oils and add mayo to get you the creaminess you deserve mayo is basically what we're making here it's an emulsion comprised of oil and egg caesar dressing just has a few more things going on or you can skip the creaminess altogether and just add oil and create something called a caesar vinaigrette but before i mosey on from the egg i do want to point one thing out salmonella lives on the shell's surface so if you give your egg a good wash before cracking it you sh

ould be good to go but again it comes down to comfort level and personal preference so you do you so we've added the egg yolk and now we're going to add a teaspoon of dijon mustard i used horseradish dijon which is great if you can find it then we're going to add about a tablespoon of lemon juice and to keep things honest i should disclose that the original recipe probably used lime juice so feel free to make the swap whisk everything together until the mixture is more or less uniform now we're

going to start the emulsion but before we get started i want to show you a little trick creating an emulsion requires you to whisk constantly while streaming in oil this means you won't have a free hand available to hold the bowl while you whisk to help keep the bowl where you want it i recommend doubling over a tea towel and wrapping it around the base of the bowl this will keep the bowl steady while you whisk we're going to start by whisking in a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil then we're

going to add a quarter cup of neutral oil i use canola once the oils are fully incorporated you should have a mixture with a creamy smooth consistency if there are still streaks of oil pooling on the surface of the dressing keep on whisking now we're just going to finish the salad off with 2 tablespoons of shredded parmigiano reggiano and a tablespoon of lemon juice give the dressing another whisk and then transfer to a resealable container store in the fridge until you're ready to make the sal

ad when i make any salad i like to start by washing my greens there is nothing worse than making a salad with soggy greens and i hate salad spinners with all my being i hate them nobody wants to be like trying to start a lawnmower repeatedly for like 20 minutes it takes long time like anyway so instead i like to give my greens the maximum amount of time to dry start by coarsely chopping a large head of romaine transfer the lettuce to a large colander and rinse under cold water shake off as much

excess water as possible before transferring it to a baking sheet lined with a tea towel place another tea towel on top and pat the lettuce dry fold the edges of the tea towels towards the center and transfer the baking sheet to the fridge while the lettuce is drying and the dressing is chilling it's time to make the croutons yes we're not using boxed croutons they're dry they're dusty they're tough and it's so easy to make your own but first we're going to preheat our oven to 400 degrees fahren

heit we're going to start by cutting a small loaf of ciabatta into cubes you can also use a french stick for this or really any crusty bread transfer the cubes to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat drizzle the cubes with two tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt using your hands toss to coat the bread evenly in the oil and salt transfer the baking sheet to the oven and roast for 10 minutes or until golden set the croutons aside to cool when they're

cool enough to handle you can store them in a resealable container now let's talk bacon i was shocked to discover bacon was not included in the original caesar salad it was added when caesar salad started to grace steakhouse menus but bacon and caesar salad was something i grew up with so i felt compelled to add it start by coarsely chopping three strips of bacon add the bacon to a cold pan and place over a medium heat fry until the bacon is crisp then transfer to a plate lined with paper towel

to drain so now we have all our salad components ready to go it's time to assemble place the lettuce in a very large bowl you want room for tossing add the dressing and toss to coat transfer the dressed lettuce to a platter and top with croutons bacon and a final sprinkling of cheese i like to top my salad with the bacon and croutons so they're easier for the diners to find larger ingredients in a salad tend to find their way to the bottom of the bowl making them more difficult to find and fish

out so i like them where i can see them finally we're going to garnish the salad with lemon wedges and serve immediately and there you go an over thought caesar salad that can be easily converted into a chicken caesar salad if you peep the previous video in this series that's a chicken joke kind of i didn't actually put that together i hate peeps though they don't really peep either no they cheap i hope you love this one and if you do give it a go let me know how it went in the comments below a

nd if you enjoyed this video don't forget to like it and subscribe to this channel i post a new recipe every week and a few extra goodies along the way thank you for cooking with me i'll see you all next time [Music] you