Caesar Salad

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Oh, Caesar salad. There hasn’t been many a time I’ve seen you on a menu and gone astray. There hasn’t been a bagged version of you that I haven’t enjoyed. But there has been notable versions I’ve had in restaurants, usually ones that are the most beautiful little cups of lettuce, piled delicately high, covered in the creamiest of dressings and absolutely doused in crunchy breadcrumbs and finely grated cheese. I had one of those versions not long ago and (especially after watching my kids help demolish it) decided we needed to recreate it stat.

The fun part about this version is the Furikake. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a Japanese seasoning that consists of dried seaweed, bonito flakes (dried fish), sesame seeds, and salt. It is most commonly used as a topping for rice. I was first introduced to it by a friend a few years back, when it was mostly found in Asian supermarkets, but it seems to be more widely available now, (I got mine at Trader Joe’s!) which is great. It adds such an interesting depth of flavor and texture to this classic salad, just furthering the umami goodness that Caesar already embodies… tangy, creamy, briny, I could go on forever. I’m just gonna need a pile of skinny golden fries and a crispy dirty Martini to go with.

What You'll Need

Serves 4 as a side

For the salad dressing:

¼ cup light mayo

¼ cup plain Greek yogurt

1 clove garlic, finely grated

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp Worcestershire

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp anchovy paste or 2-3 anchovy fillets finely chopped or blended

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 Tbsp olive oil

For the salad:

10 oz little gem lettuce (the loveliest mashup of butter and romaine)

1 tsp Furikake (Japanese multi purpose seasoning)

Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

½ cup Panko breadcrumbs, toasted in 1 Tbsp butter + 1 Tbsp olive oil

½ tsp garlic salt

What You'll Do

1. Toast your breadcrumbs in butter and olive oil for about 3-5 min, stirring often so they don’t burn. Season with garlic salt to taste and set aside to cool.

2. Tear up or chop your lettuce, rinse it and place in a big bowl to chill in fridge.

3. Make salad dressing by combining all ingredients in a mason jar and giving it a good shake! Set in fridge to chill.

4. Remove chilled lettuce from fridge and toss with as much salad dressing as you prefer, I like my Caesar saucy so I think I did about ½ cup!

5. Assemble salad - I like getting the crunchy breadcrumbs and furikake in every bite, so I layer as follows: half the dressed lettuce in serving bowl, then half a tsp of furikake sprinkled on, half the breadcrumbs and a good layer of Parmesan. Repeat and top with a good douse of freshly cracked black pepper, just like you’re at the steakhouse.

Have a lovely weekend! See ya soon,

❤️ Alli

If you make ANY of the dishes we’ve shared here in past emails I’d love to see it!

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