An authentic Caesar salad is made without a pre-mixed dressing.
The history of the popular Caesar salad may be disputed, but the crucial ingredients are not. You can purchase pre-made Caesar salad dressing, but the original recipe calls for table-side preparation with a dressing that develops in the bowl.
Lettuce
Real Caesar salad uses whole leaves of Romaine lettuce, without the core or darker leaves. Roll the leaves in the dressing base as the first step of the salad preparation; roll them again after adding the eggs to create a creamy, developed dressing. As the final step, toss the leaves with the croutons and cheese and place them on a plate with the stems facing out; this lets them be easily eaten by hand.
Dressing
Olive oil, salt and pepper are the bases of the dressing. Roll the leaves around in this base before adding the other ingredients.
Citrus
Squeeze lemon juice, lime juice or a combination of the two directly into the salad after making the dressing base. Add Worcestershire sauce to add another level of flavor.
Eggs
Coddle the eggs, or boil them for exactly one minute. Keep the eggs whole until you break them directly into the salad after adding the dressing. Roll the dressed leaves in the broken eggs to create a creamy, emulsified dressing.
Cheese
Keep grated parmesan or romano cheese in a bowl until preparation; add it last, along with the croutons.
Croutons
Bake or fry thinly-sliced baguette with garlic and oil to make the croutons. Anchovy paste spread on the croutons is optional. Keep the croutons in a bowl until preparation; toss them into the salad as the last step.
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