Caesar Salad

I make this salad almost every time we eat Italian food, even if it's just picking up a pizza. It's not the traditional Caesar since I don't use any eggs but this is slightly easier I think. I keep all the ingredients for this on hand and don't forget to splurge on the Parmesan cheese - it's worth it. It also makes a great lunch with a chopped, hard-boiled egg or some leftover chicken mixed in. This recipe is one of my own - hope you enjoy!

Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 8-10 lettuce leaves - romaine or green leaf lettuce
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 small squeeze of anchovy paste*
• squeeze from half a lemon
• 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tsp each of salt and pepper
• 1/8 cup of olive oil
• croutons

Prep

1. Wash your lettuce leaves, tearing them into bite-size pieces and removing any of the tough cores.
   

2. Spin your lettuce in a salad spinner or dry the leaves thoroughly with paper towels.
   

3. Peel and finely chop your garlic clove.
4. In a large bowl, add the garlic clove, 1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard, dab of anchovy paste, squeeze from half a lemon and 1 1/2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce.
   

5. Season with 1 tsp each of salt and pepper and stir together.
   

6. Stabilize your bowl on the counter by setting on top of a dish towel.
7. While stirring the mixture with your right hand, drizzle in the olive oil slowly with your left hand. If you're able to keep stirring the whole time, the mixture will all come together, which is called emulsifying. If you can't keep stirring, the dressing will still be tasty - the olive oil will just separate from the rest of it.
8. Once you've got all the olive oil in, grate in your parmesan cheese and stir again.
   

9. Just before serving, add your dried lettuce leaves and croutons and toss together.
   

Notes

* Anchovy Paste - You can usually find this along with the canned tomatoes or pasta and marinara sauce in the store. Here's a brand I've found a few times. It lasts forever in the fridge and really adds something special to the dressing. If you can't find it or if it grosses you out, the Worcestershire sauce has some anchovy in it so you can just omit it. Try it though - I bet you'll like it!