Martha Stewart may be the most hated of the celebrity lifestyle gurus. For me, that honor goes to Sandra Lee, queen of things semi-homemade and wholly-repulsive. I understand the Martha mockery. She's prissy and, well, is there something above Type A+? But I don't care. Martha makes great food. And frankly, if I had the time (and patience) I might even try some cute Martha crafty project.
But since I sadly have to work for a living, for now I'll stick with Martha's fabulous Caesar Salad. Honestly, it's rare--very rare--that I make recipes and don't tweak them in some way. I did try some changes, but I keep coming back to the original. Martha made it perfect. Shocking, right?
Let's talk frankly about ingredients here. This salad is a real Caesar. That means raw egg yolk and anchovies. There's some risk in raw egg, of course. But if you are healthy and the eggs are fresh, it should be minimal. I've been eating this salad for years and have never had a problem. If you are concerned, Martha says (and Martha's never wrong) that you can substitute mayo. Now about the anchovies. Lots of people hate them; few of those have ever tried them. They aren't fishy. They just add a nice background flavor. Food is about adventure--give it a try.
MARTHA STEWART CAESAR SALAD
Ingredients
Serves 4 to 6.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 eight-to ten ounce loaf rustic Italian bread, crusts removed, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic
4 anchovy fillets
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 large egg yolk
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 ten-ounce heads romaine lettuce, outer leaves discarded, inner leaves washed and dried
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, or 2 1/2 ounces shaved with a vegetable peeler
Directions
Make the croutons: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine butter and olive oil in a large bowl. Add bread cubes, and toss until coated. Sprinkle salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper; toss until evenly coated. Spread bread in a single layer on an 11-by-17-inch baking sheet. Bake until croutons are golden, about 10 minutes. Set aside until needed.
Make the salad: Place garlic, anchovy fillets, and salt in a large wooden salad bowl. Using two dinner forks, mash garlic and anchovies into a paste.
Using one fork, whisk in pepper, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, and egg yolk
Using the fork, whisk in the olive oil.
Chop romaine leaves into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces. Add croutons, romaine, and cheese to the bowl, and toss well. If you wish, grate extra cheese over the top. Serve immediately. To make a version of this dressing that you can store, simply mince garlic and anchovies, and place with remaining ingredients in a jar. Screw the lid on the jar tightly, and shake to combine. Shake the jar before each use. Store, refrigerated, for up to 4 days.
The recipe can be found on Martha Stewart Living here.
