Preparation

The key to the perfect Caesar Salad is balance. You have lots of intense flavors and if any one dominates you’re finished. So experimentation is the key.

Take a large wooden salad bowl and rub fresh garlic everywhere. Put more olive oil than you’d expect — maybe even 1/2 cup.* Squeeze half a lemon in. Mash up 2-3 canned anchovies with a fork. If you like anchovies you must resist the urge to put in more than 2 or 3. 1 raw egg, or coddled if you’re more comfortable with that. Very fresh, expensive parmesan cheese, finely-grated — use more than you might think — maybe 3/4 cup to 1 cup. A tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, little bit of Worcestershire sauce. About a heaping tablespoon of domestic brown mustard — French’s or Gulden’s — no Grey Poupon here. Mix up all of this with a fork — it should be a little pasty. Two heads of Romaine lettuice, washed, broken to bite sized pieces, dried and refrigerated. Make croutons from any white bread or baguette and sauté in salt and a little olive oil, and set aside. Add lettuce to the bowl and toss hard. Put the croutons on top.

*Metric conversions: 1/2 cup = 118 ml, 3/4 cup = 177 ml, 1 cup = 236 ml