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 400ยบ. 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).
As mentioned earlier, my first share of crops from the Beausol Gardens' CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) came this week. We receive a share of the farm's crops as well as a bunch of flowers every week. Ronnie purchased the flower package for me back in April for an Easter present. It's nice to have fresh flowers around and I'm learning about flowers I have never seen before. Pictured above is a pink peonie, white clover and my favorite, a purple Foxglove.
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