James Kenji Lopez-Alt
patreon
Sloppy Caesar Salads
🕑 Added 2024-09-25 15:50:30 +0000 UTCIngredients:
3 to 4 slices of sourdough bread, roughly torn into bite-sized pieces
2 teaspoons any cooking oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 to 6 eggs
2 heads romaine lettuce cores, root trimmed, leaves separated but left whole, carefully washed and dried
A jar of dijon mustard and a spoon
A tin or jar of anchovies and a knife
A lemon, a zester, and a juicer
A clove of garlic and a garlic press
A bottle of fish sauce
1/4 cup of etra virgin olive oil
3 to 4 ounces of Parmesan cheese and a fine grater or microplane
1. In the largest bowl you have, toss the bread with the cooking oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread onto a sheet tray and toast in an oven or toaster oven set at 350° untril crunchy and lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, bring a couple inches of water to a boil in a small lidded saucepan. When the water is boiling, gently lower the eggs into the water, reserving one. It's OK if the eggs are not submerged with water as long as there is steam in the pot. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Add the remaining egg and cook for a further 2 minutes. Immediately remove eggs from the steaming pot and run under cold running water or place them in an ice bath to chill them.
3. When ready to serve, add the romaine to the now-empty crouton bowl (no need to wash it out first) tableside. Use a spoon to add a few dollops of dijon mustard to the bowl (about 2 teaspoons total). Finely mince between 6 to 12 anchovy filets and add them to the bowl. Grate half the zest off the lemon straight into the bowl, then split the lemon and squeeze in all the juice. Press the garlic clove through the press onto the salad. Drizzle with a few splashes of fish sauce (about a teaspoon total). Add the olive oil and most of the Parmesan (reserve some for garnish)
4. Carefully peel the eggs (they will range from very soft to jammy) and, using clean hands, crush them through your fingers over the lettuce. Toss everything together until the ingredients form a sort of thick, chunky dressing that really adheres to the lettuce and offers a wide variety of flavors and textures with each bite. Encourage folks to eat lettuce spears with their hands, nachos style.
Comments
Marianne Henry
One of my first restaurant jobs was making Caesar salads tableside. This looks way more enjoyable.
Catherine
This is on our calendar for Sunday brunch - perfectly fun and delicious, thank you Kenji!
Bridget
This is not dissimilar to how my mom made Caesar salad when i was a kid (1970s), save for the fish sauce. Always coddled eggs, always anchovies, always in the bowl
