I love a good Caesar salad, but am not interested in the creamy dressing or heaviness of most Caesars. Fact is, what we know of as Caesar’s salad is a far cry from what it was originally, when the leaves of romaine are dressed at the table side with egg, anchovies, and garlic. My “deconstructed” version is similar but with my own twist on it. I actually detract from what a Caesar salad is a bit in adding olives, tomatoes, and pickled slices of meyer lemon (I am fortunate to be in California where my sister has a meyer lemon tree that gives off fruit eight months out of the year). I also overpower my salad with anchovies (here, I tempered it but use as much or as little to your taste).
Pickling is simple. Thinly slice small meyer lemon. Remove seeds, place on plate so there is no overlap of slices and sprinkle a pinch or two of kosher or sea salt over them. Set aside.
Deconstructed Caesar Salad
Servings: 1 as a main meal, 2 as appetizers
Ingredients
4-5 leaves of Romaine lettuce, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 hard-boiled egg (8-minute egg)
1 clove garlic, minced
3-4 anchovy fillets, finely chopped and mixed in with garlic
Pickled slices of 1 meyer lemon (or use half only, optional)
1/4 c. Kalamata olives, pitted and halved or quartered
1 medium ripe tomato, cut in six wedges then halved
Slices of Parmeggiano Reggiano cheese (optional)
Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Salt & pepper to taste
Combine lettuce, egg (cut in wedges), garlic/anchovy mixture, olives, tomatoes, and pickled lemon slices into bowl. Drizzle olive oil over salad and squeeze in lemon juice (if you don’t like it too tart, keep the juice light – remember, you have meyer lemons in already). Add salt and coarsely ground black pepper (again, add salt in small pinches, as the anchovies are already salty). Toss. Serve with sprinkle of fresh Parmeggiano Reggiano that’s been thinly sliced with a peeler.
Note on hard-boiling eggs: I like the yolk in my eggs to be just set enough but still soft with a bright yellow color. To reach this, I boil water over medium heat. When it comes to a boil, I lower the eggs in and set a timer for 8 minutes. Lower heat just slightly if need be, as you don’t want a hard boil to rattle your egg around; it will break. When ready, drain and place in cold water. I immediately crack the shell gently and place back in water to help with peeling.
