Homemade Caesar Salad

This week was the first share of crops that I received from Beausol Gardens' CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program. I got a variety of greens including Romaine, therefore I decided to make a homemade Caesar salad. I must say, I was a little nervous about making a Caesar dressing from scratch. The thought of having anchovies in a dressing never bothered me but dealing with em face to face was a little nerve racking. I did find some Caesar dressing recipes that excluded the anchovies, however if I was going to make Caesar then I was going to do it right.

After thumbing through a variety of recipes, I decided to combine two different recipes. One from Tyler Florence and the other from Robin Miller. They can both be found on theFoodNetwork.com. I liked the simplicity of Tyler's recipe however did not want to add two whole egg yolks to the dressing. Therefore, I excluded the egg yolks and added Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce as seen in Robin's recipe.

The dressing ended up being light and really flavorful. Ronnie and I really enjoyed it. I'm glad that I conquered the fear of cooking with anchovies because I have added this dressing to the collection of favorites. So here it is...

Croutons:
4 pieces of whole wheat bread
Extra virigin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400º. Chop bread into cubes. Place bread in a bowl and drizzle olive oil over the bread. Toss to cover. Spread bread over a baking sheet and bake for 15 mins or until golden brown.

Dressing Recipe:
1 Lemon, zested and juiced
2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan
1 garlic cloves (minced)
2 anchovies
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Romaine lettuce

Mash anchovies. Then, add garlic, lemon juice and zest in a bowl and whisk. While whisking, gradually pour in the EVOO. Continue to whisk until emulsified. Stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper. Gradually pour dressing over greens. I like to add a little at a time so I don't over drench the greens. Toss to coat. Add croutons and any additional cheese, salt or pepper (if needed).