I know that this plate may seem unsuspecting, but this humble salad is a force to be reckoned with. Kevin and I celebrated his Father’s birthday this weekend, so I prepared a special dinner will all his favorite dishes. What happened next, truly blew my mind. I served the salad, like I would any other salad and before I knew it, their bowls were empty! With a grilled steak in the distance resting, both Kevin and his Dad asked me to make another salad. I almost fainted! Not only did they eat salad, they ate two huge portions! This dressing is definitely a keeper. I like that Chef Burrell made it an egg-less caesar salad dressing, because not everyone is comfortable eating raw eggs in any form and this solves that problem! I have adjusted the recipe for our tastes, but you can find the original recipe here

Her recipe does include directions for homemade croutons, which are delicious! Try and make them if you have the time, if not use what you have on hand. I made a pretty large meal and am only human, so I opted to use some croutons I had left in my pantry.

TIP: Don’t write this recipe off because of the anchovies or the anchovy paste, (whichever one you use). You do not taste anything resembling fish. The anchovies provide the salt necessary for the dressing and they are essential to making a great Caesar salad! I buy the tube of anchovy paste, (which you can find by pine nuts and sun-dried tomatoes in your store), because I can use small portions and don’t have to worry about messes or spoiling.

Ingredients
1 cup grated Parmigiano, plus a block for shaving
2 lemons, juiced
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons anchovy paste
3/4 cup Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
2 hearts romaine lettuce

Directions

In the bowl of a food processor add the 1 cup of cheese, the lemon juice, 2 garlic cloves, the mustard and the anchovy paste. Turn the machine on and let it run for 15 to 20 seconds. As the machine is running, drizzle in olive oil. Let the machine run for another 15 seconds after the oil has incorporated. Season, to taste, with salt.

Chop or tear the romaine lettuce into bite sized pieces. In a large bowl toss the leaves with the dressing (to taste) and croutons. Using a vegetable peeler shave Parmesan curls over the salad and serve.