My relationship with Caesar salad started when my (now) husband and I were dating, and I noticed that he always ordered a Caesar salad with his dinner when we went out. I was never a fan, seeing how much it varied from place to place and the only thing guaranteed was lettuce. For the cost of $10! Sometimes tomatoes, sometimes croutons, sometimes both.
One evening we went grocery shopping to prepare dinner together that included Caesar Salad. We used a lot of store-bought dressing and a ton of extra cheese. It was awesome.
I have grown to love a good, homemade Caesar salad since then. It’s refreshing, delicious, and satisfactory. I make it at least couple of times a month and we are never tired of it. The reason? Good dressing. There is very little (if anything) you can do to the lettuce, cherry tomatoes, Parmiggiano Reggiano to make this salad better. But dressing? It takes a little time and few ingredients but it is worth every ounce of effort.
At some point, I started experimenting with making my own dressing. As I write this, I see a page after page in my notebook with notes from multiple attempts to create The Perfect Dressing. This one is it.
Important Technicality – this dressing is mayo based and the best mayonnaise recipe ever is this one. I have made it countless times and it really is Fail Proof. To make Mayonnaise you need eggs, vinegar, oil, salt, and lemon juice. For Caesar salad, all of the above and then some. I found it much easier to achieve a perfect, creamy, tangy and rich Caesar dressing by making the mayonnaise (which takes literally 10 minutes max) and then adding a few things in the food processor. And then you’re free to brag about your homemade Caesar dressing which you made (no big deal) from a homemade mayo.
However, store bought mayo will work just fine and it will save you some time too.
Happy Cooking and – Hail Caesar!
Caesar Dressing
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- 3/4 C mayonnaise Store bought or Homemade (see link in description)
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
- 2 small anchovy filets or 1 Tb anchovy paste
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2-1 C freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- 1/5 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- If you are using the homemade mayo, add all the ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth.
- If you are using store bought, add mayonnaise to the bowl of a food processor along with the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth.
- Adjust the seasoning if needed – you may want to add more lemon juice, salt, or pepper).
- Serve with your Caesar salad or refrigerate. I recommend to use it within a couple of hours, especially if you made the mayonnaise yourself (raw eggs spoil rather quickly).