El Gaucho Caesar Salad
salads
Although this isn't technically a family recipe, El Gaucho has been a big part of both of our lives for a long time, and this recipe is one that we have each made countless times. It's a classic recipe that most people think is Italian, but its actually from Mexico. Caesar Gardini had a restaurant in Tijuana and he made this salad with 'everything he had' for one of his regular customers. The dish gained popularity, and due to the name Caesar, it became associated with Italian restaurants. At El Gaucho the Caesar is prepared tableside from scratch using premium fresh ingredients, and a coddled egg. It's prepared in a large wooden bowl with wooden tongs. Bowtie optional.
Ingredients
- Fresh Romaine lettuce, washed & chopped
- ~ 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp chopped canned anchovies
- 1-2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- Garlic Croutons
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 1-2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg, coddled
Instructions
Step 1
Place egg in a dish of very hot water before you begin making the salad. This will kill any bacteria on the shell, making it safe to use the raw egg yolk in your dressing.
Step 2
In a large wooden salad bowl, add a good amount of fresh ground black pepper, minced garlic, and anchovies. If there is some liquid in the anchovies, add a teaspoon or two to the salad bowl.
Step 3
Using a fork (or two) start mashing these ingredients into the bowl and continue until a paste begins to form. Add the juice from one lemon (watch out for seeds), worcestershire and dijon mustard. Continue mixing and mashing in the bowl until you have a thick liquid. Add olive oil and egg yolk, continue mixing.
Step 4
Add lettuce, croutons, and Parmesan cheese, then toss. Be sure to toss well so that the lettuce is equally dressed.
Step 5
After plating, add more Parmesan cheese and ground pepper.