The Original Caesar Salad

The Caesar salad was created in Tijuana in 1924 by Caesar Cardini, an Italian restaurateur who apparently came up with the dish when a lunch rush depleted the kitchen’s supplies. The classic combination of flavours is just delicious and it will always be a favourite of mine. This makes a glorious starter or light(ish) lunch.

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Ingredients

For the Salad

a head of cos lettuce

1 bag or 1 bunch of watercress

1/2 loaf of white country bread

100ml olive oil

the leaves of 4-5 sprigs of thyme

2 cloves of garlic, bashed with a rolling pin to release the flavour

sea salt and black pepper

a good few pinches of sweet pimentón (smoked paprika) (optional)

100g Pecorino or Parmesan cheese

For the Dressing

2 egg yolks

juice of 1/2 lemon

a splash of red wine vinegar

a dash of Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Dijon mustard

6 anchovy fillets (make sure they’re sustainably caught), chopped

1 small clove of garlic, crushed

sea salt

100ml olive oil

100ml vegetable oil

Recipe

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/gas 3. To make the dressing, put the egg yolks, lemon juice, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, anchovies and garlic into a food processor. Add a pinch of salt and blitz with the motor running. Gradually add the oils, beginning with a very slow, thin stream to get the mayonnaise started. Blend until you have a smooth mayonnaise, adding 1 to 2 tablespoons water towards the end to thin down the dressing.

Cut the lettuce in half lengthways and break up into the leaves. Wash all the salad leaves and dry.

Tear up the bread into rough, jagged chunks and toss in the olive oil, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper and a little paprika, if you like. Bake in the oven on a baking tray for 5 to 10 minutes until golden and crispy.

Season the cos and watercress leaves with salt and pepper and gently toss in the dressing with the croûtons. Grate the Pecorino cheese over the top of the salad with a potato peeler so you have lovely, big shavings of cheese.

IMAGE CREDIT: Tara Fisher