It is unlikely that the creator of the famous Caesar salad imagined that his hastily prepared snack made from leftover food would someday become famous all over the world. Many associate the legendary dish with the name of the Roman dictator Gaius Julius Caesar, but the former consul has nothing to do with it.
What does Caesar have to do with it?
Tasty and hearty Caesar salad is now included in the obligatory menu of many restaurants in different countries. It usually contains lettuce (roman salad, romaine), cheese and croutons. The rest of the ingredients vary: chicken, turkey, anchovies, tuna, eggs, tomatoes, shrimp and so on, as far as the imagination of the chefs is enough.
Many people associate the name of the salad with the most famous Caesar, an ancient Roman politician who, according to legend, was famous for his ability to do many things at the same time. However, it is unlikely that the consul also cut salads for himself and his guests, although it is known that he loved to eat, especially respected the pork neck with apples.
It is believed that the salad called "Caesar" was invented by the Italian American Cesare (Caesar) Cardini. At the same time, many modern recipes are far from the original idea of a talented chef and restaurateur.
Prohibition and the find of Caesar Cardini
Cardini owned a Caesar’s Place restaurant on Mexican territory in Tahuena near San Diego, which allowed American diners to order alcohol and circumvent US prohibition in the 1930s. If you believe the legends (and the Caesar salad has become legendary), once a large number of visitors came to the Cesare restaurant to celebrate the Independence Day of America. It was July 4, 1924 - the date that also became the birthday of the famous dish.
Cardini served as a chef in his establishment. He did not expect a large influx of visitors and did not calculate the amount of food in the kitchen and pantry. At some point, it was necessary to prepare a quick snack for customers from what they have. All grocery stores in the area have already been closed.
It is said that the savvy chef served an unpretentious but spicy salad that day. He was so liked by the guests of the restaurant that it soon became public domain. Caesar Cardini patented the salad under the brands "Cardini" and "Original Caesar", and in 1953 its creation was recognized by the Paris Epicurean Society as the best recipe for the last half century.
Original Caesar salad
The recipe for the very first Caesar salad that Cardini offered to his guests has been preserved. According to culinary magazines, the dish was light, dietary, and did not include any meat or fish ingredients. The enterprising chef used the available greens, bread, cheese, lemon, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and made the salad dressing with olive oil and specially prepared eggs.
The history conveys the step-by-step recipe for the classic Caesar salad as follows. The dish was rubbed with peeled heads of garlic, after which lettuce leaves were placed in it. The green base was drizzled with olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Caesar Cardini boiled the eggs for a minute, took them out of the boiling water and let them stand for a dozen minutes in the room. I broke some of the eggs into a salad, and set aside some for dressing. Then grated Parmesan was added to the dish, an assortment of chopped spicy herbs, among which was basil. For satiety - toasted cubes of white croutons. Finishing touches: some Worcestershire sauce for a zest and a quick-stirring egg and olive oil dressing.
Modern recipes for Caesar salad
Over time, the calorie content of the popular Caesar salad increased: chefs began to add mayonnaise, chicken breasts, and turkey to it. Cesar Cardini's brother, Alex, suggested diversifying the dish with anchovies. Modern home and professional recipes may include shrimp, tuna, salmon, cherry tomatoes, tongue, herring, bacon, baked chicken, mushrooms, smoked salmon, guinea fowl, crab claws, and more.
Despite the availability of store mayonnaise and other sauces, real gourmets still recommend homemade dressings: homemade mayonnaise or the classic mixture of olive oil and eggs - Cardini's culinary trick.
To get the original taste of "Caesar", it is important to take the eggs out of the refrigerator in a couple of hours and keep them at room temperature, or in extreme cases, put them in salted water at a temperature of 30 ° C for a minute.
Salad today appears in many variations, step-by-step descriptions of recipes, photos and videos on the Internet, culinary magazines make sure of this. Some sites are even entirely devoted to the brainchild of an American restaurateur. Here are just some popular salad recipes that you can easily make at home.
Caesar salad with anchovies
Dice a few pieces of white bread crumb and fry the croutons in vegetable oil on both sides until lightly browned. While they are cooling, in a blender, whisk a raw chicken egg, chopped garlic clove, 6 anchovies fillets, 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, and half a teaspoon mustard.
While stirring, pour in 3/4 cup olive oil in a thin stream. When a homogeneous light substance is obtained in the blender bowl, put hand-torn lettuce leaves from one pump into a salad bowl. Grate half a glass of Parmesan, mix half of the cheese with croutons, lettuce and homemade sauce, top with the remaining Parmesan.
Caesar salad with chicken
Cook two chicken breast fillets in salted water, cool and chop. In a blender, whisk a raw egg, crushed garlic clove, a few chunks of anchovies, and half a glass of olive or sunflower oil. Before the end of shaking, pour another half cup of vegetable oil into the substance, add salt, pepper to taste, as well as a teaspoon of Worcester sauce and a tablespoon of Dijon mustard.
Mix half a glass of vegetable oil with a couple of crushed garlic subcakes, a pinch of salt, then pour the chopped baguette with the resulting mixture and bake the croutons on a baking sheet in the oven for 5 minutes at 200 ° C. Divide 200 g of Parmesan into halves, grate one and cut the other into cubes.
Combine the leaves of one head of Roman salad with cheese cubes, blended dressing, top with chicken breast and crackers, sprinkle with cheese.
Caesar salad with mushrooms
From half a loaf, prepare cubes of white croutons by browning them in a skillet in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste, after browning, mix with 2 cloves of crushed garlic and place in a serving dish.
Add 300 g of washed and chopped mushrooms (chanterelles, mushrooms, shiitake, etc.) to the frying pan where the croutons were prepared, add more vegetable oil, salt to taste. While stirring, fry the mushrooms until tender, a couple of minutes before the end of frying, add 2 heads of grated garlic and sprinkle with half a glass of chopped parsley (basil, cilantro).
Combine croutons, mushrooms, half a cup of grated Parmesan, leaves from one head of Roman salad. After that, make the dressing: in a blender, scroll a couple of hard-boiled eggs, 2-3 anchovy fillets, 2.5 teaspoons of anchovy paste, pepper on the tip of a knife and 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil. When the substance becomes homogeneous, season the Caesar salad with it. Bon Appetit!
