Caesar Salad, the authentic way...

[BrianHG]

20 years ago, one of my local favorite fine dining restaurants closed.  They used to have the waiter make the Caesar salad at the table in a wooden bowl just like you see in this video.  It was the best.



I always loved it with extra Anchovies ans extra Parmesan cheese.

[Smokey]

You mean it didn't always just come from a bag at Trader Joes? 

That's cool.  I didn't know the history.  Thanks.

[coppercone2]

how do you do it with out fish.

Its interesting because it seems like one of the true roman recpies left, that is, they use garum like substance.

True hallmark of civilization is : how disgusting is your ketchup like substance?

They used fish in the ancient times. It moved towards mushroom sauce in old times (a little funky) to tomato paste, probobly purchased in giant cubes, in modern times.

[jpanhalt]

how do you do it with out fish.

I surveyed various bottles of Caesar dressing at Walmart and Meijers.  It seems Worcestershire sauce is sometimes substituted for anchovies.  For a tangy, quick "mock" dressing, I use Lea & Perrins brand and Hidden Valley Ranch dressing and Bordens whole milk buttermilk.  The ranch dressing provides the oil, emulsifiers, garlic,salt,pepper, and other stuff, buttermilk gives the cheese and reduces viscosity, and Lea & Perrins gives a little fermented fishy tang.

Ratios by volume:
Hidden Valley: 3 (about 9 oz)
Buttermilk: 1 (3 oz)
Lea & Perrins: 1-1/2 to 2 tablespoons

The family likes it.   I also have a recipe for "real" Caesar's, but I need to write it out neatly.  I found that white anchovies or specific brands (e.g., Agostino Recca ) are far better than the terrible fishy versions found commonly on store shelves in the US.  The Agostino have more of a meaty flavor, sort of like swordfish vs. salmon.  Another detail I discovered is that Berios Extra Virgin olive oil (green can) gets bitter and is not as good as the "traditional" (gold can) for the dressing.  Will post actual recipe later.  It's quite simple.

EDIT:
@BrianHG
We used to go to the Stuft Shirt Restaurant in Pasadena, California (early 1960's).  It also had waiters make the dressing by the table, and it was quite good.  Turns out, you can still find the name on Google: https://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/5057/  My recipe is based mostly on memory from that.

[tooki]

how do you do it with out fish.

It’s interesting because it seems like one of the true roman recpies left, that is, they use garum like substance.

Well garum was Roman (the modern descendant being colatura di alici), but Caesar dressing was invented in 1924 in Tijuana, Mexico.

Other than allergies, why would you want to make it without the anchovies? They provide delightful umami to it.

It seems Worcestershire sauce is sometimes substituted for anchovies.

In the original recipe, Worcestershire sauce was used, and no anchovies. (As an anchovy lover, though, I am glad they’re now a common ingredient.) Worcestershire sauce itself contains anchovies too, but not as a dominant ingredient.


BTW, a high quality Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce is actually a great way to add anchovy flavor to Italian foods without having to commit to opening a whole can of anchovies. (I use the Squid Brand premium sauce, the one with the gold label.)

[armandine2]

  How about a Waldorf the inauthentic way?

[jpanhalt]

Here's my recipe based on memory from the restaurant I mentioned earlier.

[Halcyon]

Far from traditional, but a different take on a chicken Caesar:

[coppercone2]

I think the best unami for a salad is bulgarian feta,, then you can go really light for the dressing even pure vinegar or lemon works, or at least you can go down on oil content, i.e. 50% instead of 30% vinegar, or even more.

it is not like the normal feta cheese

A high vinegar dressing IMO is rather harsh for a traditional parmasan cheese (especially grated coarse), but with a creamy malleable feta the game is changed to require much less oils

I think the ceasar salad is very specific in making parmasan cheese, basically chopped, taste good cold and probobly essential for making a salad eddible with Reggianito, which is like parmasan cheese jerky.. that one is like a reagent not a cheese


Parmasan, cold, has to be basically drenched in oil to be edible (usually oily pizza or spaghetti), otherwise it basically requires roasting. I find it grated to be disappointing in salads if you don't really up the oil content of the dressing.


It seems like its a bit of a incomplete cheese product. Degreased cheese. If its cooked though that is a unique situation where it ends up being delicious for a different reason on things like roasted vegetables (with almost no oil on them). Then it kinda starts getting a reputation for being a component in health foods, since it basically turns into a kinda spice, if salt is used sparingly.



I kind of wonder now about a super ceasar salad, where the cheese is slightly burned, cooled, and re-ground.

[5U4GB]

Far from traditional, but a different take on a chicken Caesar:

And here's the English version: