I got obsessed with vegan Caesar salad this past week, but then my pal Alison reminded me that classic Caesar is a classic for good reason—it’s delicious and nutritious!
So, in the spirit of using what I already have in the fridge—anchovies! Dijon! Parm!—I got to work revising my old recipe from 2010.
Making a salad dressing and having it at the ready is one of the best things you can do for your cooking-at-home eating. Keep some romaine on hand, make some crispy lentils, and you have lunch covered for days.
Classic Caesar Salad Dressing
makes 1½ cups
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar Banyuls
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard Edmond Fallot
- 1–2 anchovy fillets
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt or Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard Coleman's
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup neutral oil like high-oleic safflower The Oil Barn
For salad: chilled romaine, Parmigiano Reggiano, capers, freshly ground black pepper
Also good: homemade croutons and/or crispy lentils
Instructions
-
In the work-bowl of a food processor, whir for one minute to combine: egg, olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, anchovy, garlic, salt, and dry mustard.
-
With motor running, drizzle the oils through the feed tube in a very fine stream until fully incorporated. (If you have the insert for the feed tube with the tiny hole in the bottom, pour the oil into it—it allows just the right amount to drip-drip-drip.) When all the oil has been incorporated, you will have an emulsion, meaning that everything should be holding together. Voilà! You’ve just made mayonnaise! (Well, an anchovy flavored one…)
Refrigerate at least 30 minutes to marry the flavors. The resting time will also thicken the dressing.
