Classic Caesar Salad

First, let me just tell you, I love Caesar salads. Always have. What I don't care for is the bottled dressing that comes "fresh" from the grocery store shelves.

Second, until I started making my own dressing, I had no idea that Caesar salad dressing had anchovies in it.

As a child, I swore that as long as there was breath in my body, I would "never, ever, ever" eat an anchovy. Actually, I swore that I would "never, ever, ever" eat any kind of tiny little fish-in-a-can. Especially if it still looked like a fish. 

Well, I'm still breathing, and I ate an anchovy. In fact, I have eaten many, as this is our new favorite salad. And as anyone knows, (except me, apparently) anchovies make the dressing.

Just don't ask me to eat a sardine.

Classic Caesar Salad

~The Players~

Remember to use organic ingredients!

4 large cloves of garlic, minced

juice of 2 lemons (I used Meyer lemons)

1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce

6 anchovy fillets, packed in olive oil (a 2-oz. tin)

2 large egg yolks, from pastured eggs only

5 t. extra virgin olive oil

1/3 C. sunflower oil (the best you can find)

3/4 C. Parmesan cheese, finely grated

3 romaine hearts, cut into slices (about 1/2-3/4 inch wide)

fresh ground pepper

2 cups croutons (homemade or store-bought)

Mix garlic and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside for 10-15 minutes. This helps to tone down the harshness of the raw garlic.

Pat the anchovies dry, before chopping them up.

Put anchovies, Worcestershire sauce, egg yolks and lemon/garlic mixture into a food processor.

Pulse a few times to blend it all together.

Pre-measure the oils into a pourable measuring cup.

With the food processor on, very slowly start adding the oils in a steady stream, until fully emulsified. When finished, pour dressing into a salad bowl. Add Parmesan cheese and stir it in.

Make sure that the romaine lettuce is dry before adding it to the bowl or the dressing won't stick. Toss gently to coat. Add croutons. Season with fresh ground black pepper before serving.

Enjoy!