Recipe Update from May 2008
My eating diet can be summed up in two seasons: Soup season and salad season. With the exception of the cold soup, it’s salad days indeed. The only other exception I make when it comes to eating a salad ‘year ’round is a Caesar Salad.
We’ve all had Caesar Salad and surely we’ve all had a bad Caesar Salad. Your quest for the ultimate Caesar Salad ends here. I have, what I consider to be the ultimate Caesar Salad.
Another early influence on my foodie DNA has to be my Theo (uncle) Vangeli, 1st cousin to my mom. Theo Vangeli came to Canada a young man and worked the restaurant trade for all of his working life.
This man to this day is culinary gold, having worked in an age when family restaurants made EVERYTHING from scratch. Theo Vangeli was an early riser, making the morning shift his work preference. In the old’skool fashion, he’d make sauces, soups of the day, prepare daily specials like Shepherd’s Pie or a big tray of lasagna. His morning was also not complete without the preparation of a big, heaping pail of Caesar Salad dressing.
Today, I’m sharing with you, my Theo Vangeli’s Caesar Salad dressing. It’s a keeper.
An important note: this recipe uses only fresh, farm eggs so anyone sheepish about Salmonella or pregnant women might want to coddle your eggs before proceeding with this recipe.
Another aspect (s) I’d like to point out with a proper Caesar Salad is pay attention to detail:
- wash & dry your Romaine lettuce thoroughly
- make your own Croutons
- use real bacon
Caesar Salad
Dressing
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 fresh farm egg yolks
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. anchovy paste (or 2 fillets)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp. black pepper
splash of water
1/3 cup olive oil + 2/3 cup vegetable oil
salt to taste
Romaine Lettuce, thoroughly washed and dried
Homemade Croutons
Crispy bacon pieces
- Using your food processor, add all the dressing ingredients except for the oil and the salt. Start processing on a medium speed for a couple of minutes or until you have a thick, yellowish cream.
- Slowly pour your oil through the spout until you get a thick, creamy Caesar dressing.
- Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and sometimes, some more lemon juice. Keeps for up to 1 week in the fridge.
- In a large salad bowl, add your Romaine lettuce and a dollop of dressing and toss to coat. If the salad is too dry, add some more dressing and toss to coat.
- Grate some fresh Parmesan, a squeeze of lemon juice, a turn of fresh black pepper and top with Croutons and crispy bacon.
46 Responses
LOL @ “use real bacon”…you weren’t expecting people to use those pretend pink bits they try to sell as “bacon” in some places..but I digress. Love the ceasar salad dressing Peter and yes I’ll have extra anchovies on mine please.
I envision your Theo Vangeli’s Caesar Salad Dressing on the shelves of our local supermarket. It’s a keeper as you said!!
OMG how coincidental is this? I have a Ceasar salad in the queue to be posted! LOL Yours looks deeeeelicious, Peter! :D
Wow Peter, this is definitely a winner recipe. It is been added to the blogosphere highlights :)
I miss those days when family restaurants made everything from scratch. We are lucky we have relatives that were still part of it.
Getting Beach ready. Your sald makes me want to eat it. I have been turned off by many abland Ceasar. Yours looks creamy and satisfyting. I could subsist on this and soup.
Mouth watering…
What do you mean “real bacon”???? Is there any unreal bacon somewhere?
Thank your uncle for the wonderful caesar salad! Never made my own Caesar but I’ll take yours whenever that time comes and summer in Spain is real hot and we’ll be needing lots of ensaladas!!!
Hasta luego chico!!!
looks great Peter. We have gotten away from Caesar Salads but this just may bring us back!
Love it…love it…love it. I’ll be dreaming of that tangy dressing and crisp romaine all day!
Beautiful. I really should eat more salads. I just need to make myself buy the ingredients when I’m at the store. And thanks for the comment on my blog.
LOOOOVE this! This dressing looks fantastic. Making your own is so much better than not!
another great one Peter!
Can’t beat a proper Caesar. I hate it when restaurants ruin them by absolutely something them with the dressing. This looks perfect!
Pete, I’m serious…I still see at homes and restaurants, that plastique-like crap that’s supposed to pass off as bacon.
Val, it’s even better than Renee’s.
Nikki, I’m not surprised as we have similar tastes.
Ben, there are some diners and such that still make everything the ole’ fashioned way.
Glam, this one’s got punch but the garlic won’t kill you either…well, maybe! lol
Noelle, a bib for the drool?
Nuria, some use imitation bacon, tofu bacon, chicken or turkey bacon…it’s a mad world!
Judy, a well-made Caesar salad is timeless. It’s wonderful when you whip up the dressing in the bowl from scratch!
Leah, easy dressing…try it our when you get home.
Andy, this salad eats like a meal…have your greens, lad.
Meghan, good to see you back…you’ll luv this dressing.
Forkful, this one’s pretty true to the classic, save for the veg. oil in it and I put that in as olive oil doesn’t do well in the fridge.
ΩΩΩ ωÏα μεσημεÏιανου. Οτι Ï€Ïεπει η σαλατα με το ντÏεσινγκ του θειου Βαγγελη. Αντε γιατι χτες με μπακλαβα για Ï€Ïωινο, ακομα εχω βαÏυστομαχια!
Nice, It’s not Caeser unless there is a raw egg yolk and some anchovies\anchovy paste.
Is one of my favorites Peter, Looks yummy,yummy, the bad Is when I come your Blog I want to eat ya!!! Nice pictures tto.xxGloria
I don’t know what is wrong with me, or every Ceasar salad I have ever had, but it has never had bacon on it. This is a problem I am going to have to remedy ASAP.
Peter — I’ve never used anchovy paste. Would it not taste better with the ones out of the can? I love the sharp taste of anchovies from the can.
Paul
I keep anchovy paste in my pantry just for Caesar salad — it’s such a great invention for people who are a bit squeamish about the little fishes. I don’t use bacon in my Caesars, but it does look delicious in your photos.
This looks just the way it should be. What a lovely thing to share with us now that the weather is turning nice. And this is a good way to use my farm fresh eggs! (I’m now picking them up each Saturday and Wednesday).
Peter, this looks like a Memorial Day weekend salad to me. My kids will eat store bought dressings, but I’ve spoiled my husband!
You are tiring me out, Peter.Golly I cannot keep up. Although we are now entering the colder months, this salad is bold enough to even survive my winter menu.
You are tiring me out, Peter.Golly I cannot keep up. Although we are now entering the colder months, this salad is bold enough to even survive my winter menu.
You are tiring me out, Peter.Golly I cannot keep up. Although we are now entering the colder months, this salad is bold enough to even survive my winter menu.
You are tiring me out, Peter.Golly I cannot keep up. Although we are now entering the colder months, this salad is bold enough to even survive my winter menu.
You are tiring me out, Peter.Golly I cannot keep up. Although we are now entering the colder months, this salad is bold enough to even survive my winter menu.
You are tiring me out, Peter.Golly I cannot keep up. Although we are now entering the colder months, this salad is bold enough to even survive my winter menu.
You are tiring me out, Peter.Golly I cannot keep up. Although we are now entering the colder months, this salad is bold enough to even survive my winter menu.
You are tiring me out, Peter.Golly I cannot keep up. Although we are now entering the colder months, this salad is bold enough to even survive my winter menu.
You are tiring me out, Peter.Golly I cannot keep up. Although we are now entering the colder months, this salad is bold enough to even survive my winter menu.
Despoina, kali xonepsi!
Katerina, 100% agree.
Gloria, have a snack before visiting.
Elly, crispy bacon on my Caesar is a non-negot.
Paul, paste or fillets are fine…you choose, bro.
Lydia, I like using the tube too over fillets.
Jen, lucky you! A friend of the family’s brought over the fresh eggs.
Marjie, your kids might drop the store bought stuff after trying this.
Nina, I agree but the Caesar can still be enjoyed during the colder months.
OOOOH Yum! That dressing looks and sounds absolutely the best!
Caesar salad always reminds me of a ‘dippy’ friend of mine, who once, when we went out for a meal asked for ‘Chicken Caesar salad, without the Caesar’ – DOH! LOL
I mean ‘dippy’ in the nicest possible way Jo – if you ever get to read this!
I sheepishly admit that I love both soup and salad all year round! So either way, I would be totally game for this salad.
Second confession: I’ve never made my own caesar dressing.
You use “real bacon” but anchovies from a tube? Also, Theo is your second cousin, not your uncle.
Okay, sheesh, I’ll lay off. You poor thing. :D
I am gargling my drool over those colossal croutons! I can smell the tangy garlicky goodness already! Jealousy…I haz it.
Nice looking Caesar salad! Anchovy paste sounds pretty convenient.
Veeeerrry nice dressing, Peter. Just saved the recipe.
Since I need to change my diet I will simply drool over that lamb post and comment on the chicken ceasar salad. I used to eat this practically every evening when I weighed about 100 lbs- tell, me how am I supposed to choose ceasar salad over lamb? lol
Now that is a gorgeous salad! I love a GOOD (key word) Caesar salad. So hard to find.
You have been BUSY while I was gone! I can’t keep up with all this wonderful food.
Peter, you’ve read my mind. I myself made a homemade caesar salad the other day and was meaning to post on it, but alas, no camera was around to take pics. I used a great recipe by Giada that included some polenta croutons. It was fabulous, but the dressing was a bit off from the traditional.. I’ll be sure to try this one.
This looks like a keeper for me!
looks like the quest is over. i have found THE perfect Caesar salad.
Scrumptious!
Cheers,
Rosa
I haven’t had a good Caesar salad in I don’t know how long. That is definitely going to be lunch soon!
What makes a Caesar salad for me is the croutons. Yum!