Hail, Caesar! (The almond edition)
This innovative dressing offers a nutty twist to a classic salad.
Caesar salad is a classic favorite for many. This recipe is adapted from one by Diana Henry, a UK cookbook author. Rather than using eggs and oil as a base for the creamy dressing, this version uses almonds. You can also add Dijon and capers.
Servings: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 large head romaine lettuce or four heads of little gem lettuces
- 6 anchovy fillets, drained of oil (or approximately 1 tablespoon anchovy paste or 4 to 5 squiggly inches)
- 1/4 cup blanched almonds
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon capers, drained
- 1 clove of garlic, chopped
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water, additional as needed
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated
- Whole wheat croutons of choice, homemade if possible
- Grilled lean protein of choice, optional
Directions
- Separate lettuce, wash, and dry.
- In a small food processor, combine the anchovies, almonds, mustard, garlic and capers and process to a paste.
- Scrape down the sides and, with the motor running, slowly add the lemon juice, olive oil, and water (these can be combined in a larger measuring cup for ease of drippage). Add additional water as needed for a salad dressing-like consistency.
- Add a few grinds of black pepper. Taste and add salt only if needed (in my three times of making this recipe I haven’t needed any extra salt because of the anchovies and capers).
- Toss the lettuces, dressing, cheese, and croutons together and serve.
- Top with small portion of lean protein if desired.
Nutrition information (per serving)
- Calories: 180
- Total fat: 14 g
- Saturated fat: 2.5 g
- Cholesterol: 10 mg
- Sodium: 380 mg
- Total carbohydrate: 7 g
- Dietary fiber: 2 g
- Total sugars: 3 g
- Protein: 8 g
Nutrition information does not include croutons and lean protein. Add 50 calories and 7 g carbohydrates if you include both.