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| Course | Hors d'œuvre |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Mexico |
| Region or state | Tijuana |
| Created by | Cesare Cardini |
| Serving temperature | Chilled or Room Temperature |
| Main ingredients | Romaine Lettuce Croutons Lemon Juice Olive Oil Egg Worcestershire Sauce Black Pepper |
| Variations | Multiple |
A Caesar salad has romaine lettuce and croutons dressed with parmesan cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, egg, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper. It may be prepared tableside.
History
The history of this popular salad is a controversial issue, even in the spelling of the name. There is a widely held misconception that it is named after Julius Caesar,
Recipe
The original Cesar salad recipe (unlike Alex's Aviator's salad) did not contain pieces of anchovy; the slight anchovy flavor comes from the Worcestershire sauce. Cardini was opposed to using anchovies in his salad.
In the book From Julia Child's Kitchen, Julia Child describes how she ate a Cesar salad at Cardini's restaurant when she was a child in 1920s, and some 50 years later she called Cardini's daughter, in order to discover the original recipe. In this recipe, lettuce leaves are served whole on the plate, because they are meant to be lifted by the stem and eaten with the fingers. It also calls for coddled eggs and Italian olive oil.
The Cardini family trademarked the original recipe in 1948, and more than a dozen varieties of bottled Cardini's dressing are available today. Some recipes include one or more of mustard, avocado, tomato, bacon bits, or garlic cloves. Rochelle Low is credited with the creation of the "nouveau-Cesar" style by adding the hotly contested ing]
- olive oil
- fresh crushed garlic - often in olive oil
- salt
- fresh-ground black pepper
- wine vinegar
- lemon juice or lime juice - fresh squeezed
- Worcestershire sauce
- raw or coddled egg yolks
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- freshly prepared croutons
- Variations:
- mayonnaise
- variations of lettuce
- chicken
- capers
- Romano cheese
- anchovies
- shrimp
- salmon
Raw egg and salmonella
There is potential risk of infection by salmonella bacteria occasionally found in raw egg from cracked or improperly washed eggshells. This is a concern with many similar dressings that are emulsified with eggs, though generally the pH level is thought to be acidic enough to kill those bacteria. Nevertheless, later versions of the recipe call at least for briefly-cooked coddled eggs or pasteurized eggs. Recipes may omit the egg and produce a "Cesar vinaigrette". Yogurt is sometimes substituted for the eggs to maintain a creamy texture.
References
- above quoted D. Grant, → 'AVIATOR'S SALAD'
- "My father always used Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce, and anchovies are one of its ingredients. He meant this to be a subtle salad, and anchovies can be overwhelming." (Above quoted 1987 interview with Rosa Cardini)
- {{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Rosa Cardini |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/09/22/db2203.xml |quote=Rosa Cardini, who has died in California aged 75, turned the salad dressing created by her father, Cesar, into a staple of modern dining and a million-dollar business. Although the or
- The Rosa Cardini recipe does not call for this. As there hardly will be found an Italian salad recipe of that time without any vinegar at all, this might be just an omission.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service Fact Sheet on Egg Products and Food Safety
Books
- Child, Julia. From Julia Child's Kitchen, 1975. ISBN 0-517-20712-5
- Greenfield, Terry D. In Search of Caesar - The Ultimate Caesar Salad Book, Tjicknor & Fields, 1983.
- Mariani, John F. The Dictionary of American Food & Drink, Ticknor & Fields, 1983.
- Stradley, Linda. What's Cooking America, Chehalem Publishing, 1997.
- Trager, James. The Food Chronology, Henry Holt and Company, 1995.
External links
- History of Salads
- Narrative and original recipe from From Julia Child's Kitchen
- Caesar Salad from BigOven.com
- Caesar Salad Video from Hotel Caesar in Tijuana, B.C., Mexico