If there’s one thing I love, it’s a mean caesar salad. I’ve grown up eating this, typically alongside pasta, as I’m sure many of you have too. But I only ever ate the store-bought, cream based dressing. That’s all I was used to. Well let me tell you, the first time I ever tried FRESH, homemade caesar, a little part of my world changed! Have you ever tried fresh caesar dressing? It’s kind of life changing! It’s one of those you-will-never-go-back-to-store-bought-caesar-dressing-ever kind of changes! For years now, we’ve been making a variation of the Williams Sonoma recipe. Over time, you start to tweak recipes to your personal preferences and that’s exactly what we’ve done with this one!
One ingredient I want to take a minute to talk about are the anchovies. DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THEM! Traditional Caesar dressings all have anchovies. Even some store bought ones will have them in there. In fact, anchovies are common in many sauces you are probably already using, including Worcestershire Sauce (who knew eh?!). When we first started making this dressing, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure about the anchovies. I honestly didn’t even know where one finds them in the grocery store (in the seafood refrigerator!). They do smell a tad “fishy” when you first open the can but rest assured, once broken down and mixed well into the dressing, there is no fishy smell whatsoever. What they do add is an incredibly depth of flavor to this dressing (or many others dressings/sauces, for that matter). Often times, when people wonder what that one ingredient is in a sauce, it’s almost always anchovies. I find it has a real nutty flavor and really makes this dressing pop with flavor! So don’t be afraid…try it! And we use both canned and paste. I personally don’t notice a difference, although my hubby tends to prefer the canned. I prefer the paste (that is what’s pictured!) solely for economical purposes: it saves better and longer for reuse in the fridge.
Why not try it out for tonight’s dinner instead of that store bought stuff in your fridge? I promise you’ll love it! And as always, please let me know how it turned out for you! Enjoy!
Love & Blessings,
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 4 anchovy fillets (or roughly 2 tbsp of anchovy paste)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp salt, divided
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
- In the bottom of a salad bowl, using a fork, crush the garlic with salt to make a paste. Crush the anchovy fillets into the paste. Whisk in the Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and pepper. While whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil to make a thick dressing. Finally, whisk in the egg.
- Assemble your salad. Add lettuce, croutons and bacon to the dressing and mix gently but thoroughly.
- Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve!
