Caesar salad
Try this classic salad recipe to get your kids to eat more fresh produce.
If you have kids, signing them up for a cooking class or growing your own produce is a great way to teach kids about eating healthy. There may be no better way to tackle the obesity epidemic in children than to teach them to cook the food they have grown themselves.
This recipe for Caesar salad is a family favorite and a great way to use fresh romaine lettuce from your local farmers' market or your own garden. Because it doesn’t use raw eggs, no one has to be concerned about salmonella or the extra cholesterol.
To make this a complete dinner salad, consider adding boneless skinless chicken breast (grilled or pan-sautéed and sliced.)
Ingredients
- Bag of hearts of romaine lettuce
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 9 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3 inch long squiggle of anchovy paste
- 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and dried
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 ounce Parmegiano Reggiano cheese, shaved, plus 1 ounce grated
- 3 cups French bread cubes, crouton-sized
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 tablespoon paprika
Directions
- Wash and thoroughly dry the romaine, then chill.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add 6 smashed garlic cloves to 4 tablespoons olive oil in a small saucepan. Heat oil until very hot and turn off immediately. Let it sit for about 15 minutes. Discard the garlic.
- Toss the bread cubes with the garlic-flavored olive oil and paprika in a medium mixing bowl. Bake the croutons on a baking sheet for 15 minutes or until crispy and well-browned.
- Grate 1 ounce of Parmesan. Toss the hot croutons with the parmesan in the mixing bowl.
- In a food processor, blender or mini-processor, combine 1/2 of the lemon juice, sherry vinegar, 3 smashed cloves of garlic, Dijon mustard, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Let sit for 5 minutes so the salt dissolves.
- Add the Worcestershire, anchovy paste, and capers. Process until smooth.
- Drizzle in the olive oil while the processor is running to emulsify the dressing.
- Add more of the lemon juice to taste.
- Toss the chilled romaine in the dressing. Use just enough to moisten the romaine.
- Shave 1 ounce Parmesan on top of the salad and toss all with the croutons.