FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Mark R. Vogel
Epicure1@optonline.net
Hail Caesar!
Few dishes have origins so embroiled in controversy as Caesar
salad. The most widely accepted tale is that Caesar Cardini, a restaurant owner
and chef in Tijuana Mexico, whipped up a salad from scratch with leftover
ingredients for a gathering of hungry Hollywood notables, sometime in the
1920’s, (1924 being the most often quoted year). Other yarns credit his aunt or
brother for it’s creation, and claim that it was made for a group of Cardini’s
old aviator buddies instead of Hollywood dignitaries. There’s even discrepancy
about whether anchovies were included in the original recipe. The more you probe
into this enigma, the more you need a drink instead of a salad.
Suffice it to say that the “original” ingredients appear to
be romaine lettuce, coddled eggs, (we’ll get to those in a moment,
Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, olive oil, parmesan cheese, croutons, salt,
and pepper. Despite its dubious history, Caesar salad is delicious and can
successfully be combined with such accompaniments as grilled chicken, steak, and
shrimp. Here’s the recipe I use:
One coddled egg yolk
Two garlic cloves, minced
One and a half tablespoons Dijon mustard
Quarter teaspoon salt
Two tablespoons lemon juice
One (2-ounce) can anchovies, minced
Half cup extra virgin olive oil
One head romaine lettuce
Quarter cup grated Parmesan cheese
Cracked black pepper to taste
Croutons to taste
Using a whisk or food processor, mix the egg yolk, garlic, mustard, salt, lemon
juice, and anchovies. After they are thoroughly mixed, slowly drizzle in the
olive oil, and I mean slowly. You are making an emulsion and if you pour the oil
in too quickly it will not form properly. (An emulsion is a mixture of fat and a
water based liquid.) Pour a thin stream with either the food processor or your
arm in constant motion. As it forms you can pour it faster. Combine only about
three quarters of the dressing with the lettuce at first, adding the rest if
necessary. Add the cheese, black pepper, and croutons and toss.
Interestingly, some of the ingredients are as controversial
as the salad’s heritage. First and foremost is the egg. To make a coddled egg,
place it in the shell in boiling water for one minute and no more. Immediately
plunge it into ice water to stop the cooking and then separate out the white.
The egg adds flavor and is the primary emulsifying agent in the dressing, the
mustard coming in second.
The egg is not cooked to a high enough internal temperature
to kill salmonella, if it is present. Not all chickens are infected with
salmonella and not all strains of salmonella can permeate the egg. Amongst
contaminated birds, it is estimated that only one in ten thousand eggs will also
contain the bacteria. Furthermore, it depends on how much of it present. Healthy
immune systems can fend off small doses but time allows the bacteria to
multiply. If you use very fresh eggs, (grades AA or A), that were bought the
same day, make the dressing IMMEDIATELY before serving it, and forgo any
leftovers, you are quite unlikely to develop illness. If you eat eggs over easy,
you’re already taking the same risk. Nevertheless, the standard recommendation
is that young children, the elderly, pregnant or nursing mothers, and
individuals with compromised immune systems avoid raw or partially cooked eggs.
If you need to eliminate the egg, use extra mustard instead.
Next problem. The anchovies. One of those foods that people
either love or hate. All I can say is people I know who don’t like anchovies
still loved the salad. They get mixed in with all the other ingredients to
create a tasty homogenized flavor quite different than eating them straight.
But, you can skip them if you wish.
Employ a high quality extra virgin olive oil. Considering it
is the base of the dressing, it will make a dramatic difference. Same with the
Parmesan cheese. Don’t even think of using that old tin of processed grated
cheese in your fridge. Procure a chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano and grate it
yourself.
Ah, stop. I see you reaching for that imitation lemon juice.
Yuk. Buy a lemon and squeeze two tablespoons out of it. If you eliminated the
anchovies I would increase the lemon juice, and the salt for that matter. And I
don’t have to mention that you should grind whole peppercorns instead of using
that tasteless ground powder that’s been sitting on your counter for months,
right?
Lastly, I did not include Worcestershire sauce. If you like
it, by all means add it. Employ one tablespoon. Mix it in with the beginning
ingredients before adding the oil. If you’re skipping the anchovies but adding
the Worcestershire you may not need to increase the salt. (Anchovies are used to
make Worcestershire by the way).
