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How to make Caesar salad dressing. Step-by-step recipes for making Caesar dressing at home

Many of us, thinking about the questions of how to make Caesar salad, how to cook Caesar salad, how to make Caesar salad, how to cook Caesar salad, etc., are rarely interested in who came up with the recipe for Caesar salad. When most of us hear the word “Caesar,” we first of all think of Gaius Julius Caesar, but it was not he who invented the Caesar salad. The recipe for Caesar salad was invented by an American of Italian origin, Caesar Cardini. It was he who, in 1924, mixed eggs, olive oil, lettuce, bread, Parmesan cheese, garlic and Worcestershire sauce to create the world's first Caesar salad. It’s just that, according to legend, he didn’t have any other ingredients for the salad and the cook had to get out. This is the classic Caesar salad. All other familiar ingredients were added to the Caesar salad later. For example, they started cooking Caesar salad with chicken, Caesar salad with salmon, Caesar salad with shrimp. Today, many people mistakenly believe that Caesar salad with chicken is classic, but it is not. It should be noted that the classic Caesar salad is made with a special sauce; the recipe for Caesar salad sauce is known to few today. If you are interested in a classic Caesar salad recipe, you should definitely know how to prepare Caesar salad dressing. Caesar salad dressing includes raw eggs, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and lemon juice. Thus, Caesar salad dressing is actually homemade mayonnaise. This is why Caesar salad is so often prepared with ready-made mayonnaise, as in the recipe for Caesar salad with chicken with mayonnaise.

The most popular Caesar salad at home, it is also the simplest, it is Caesar salad with chicken, with croutons, fresh lettuce and mayonnaise. But if you are a real gourmet and you are interested in Caesar salad, a simple recipe is unlikely to suit you. Try making a classic Caesar salad and you won't regret it. If you don’t have the time or desire to prepare a real Caesar salad, the recipe can be simplified. The two required ingredients are lettuce and croutons. Although Peking cabbage is sometimes used instead of lettuce, this is a recipe for Caesar salad with Chinese cabbage. In addition to salad, other vegetables are sometimes added, for example, Caesar salad with tomatoes is prepared. The recipe for Caesar salad with tomatoes is more juicy. Probably the only constant ingredient in any Caesar salad is croutons. The recipe for Caesar salad with croutons uses both ready-made croutons and fried bread or croutons. Caesar salad with croutons can be prepared in an original way. If you overcook the croutons a little until dark, you will get a black Caesar salad. For many, preparing a Caesar salad is unthinkable without chicken, so Caesar salad it turns out much more satisfying. Chicken meat can be prepared in various ways, including Caesar salad with smoked chicken and Caesar salad recipe with grilled chicken. In addition, it happens that they completely forget about the chicken when preparing Caesar salad with ham. Thus, Caesar salad can be prepared not only with chicken; the ingredients can be very diverse. You can find a recipe for Caesar salad with salmon, a recipe for Caesar salad with shrimp. So the choice of recipe is yours. Search, and if you want to do everything correctly, choose Caesar salad recipe with photo, Caesar salad photo, Caesar salad with chicken photo.

Cuisines of different nations include a huge number of salads with both familiar and exotic ingredients. In every appetizer, dressing plays a huge role, adding piquancy or spiciness to the dish. Often, a mixture of vegetables needs to enhance their taste, so the filling is called the heart of the salad.

Caesar salad dressing is no exception. The snack with the name of the ruler of the Roman Empire, as well as the chef who created it, is known all over the world. Its key ingredients—lettuce, parmesan, white croutons, and chicken breast—make for a memorable and nutritious combination. A complex dressing brings them together and gives the salad original flavors.

Creating a dressing will take much more time than chopping food into a salad, and yet without it it will seem unfinished and inauthentic.

Caesar dressing makes the dish rich and rich. It shares the same name with salad because it is inseparable from it. In recent years, chefs have come up with variations of Caesar that differ greatly from the classic base. Following the salad, the dressing was also changed.

In iconic restaurants, chefs pay great attention to the sauce, using rare ingredients.

Not every housewife has Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce. However, they are sold in stores, and it’s worth trying at least once to make an exquisite sauce according to the original recipe. With it, the salad will sparkle in a new way, which will not go unnoticed by those invited to lunch.

Caesar salad sauce - the most delicious recipes

The Caesar dressing recipe has many variations. Depending on the composition of the salad and your favorite products, you can choose your own version of the popular dressing.

Caesar Cardini, who invented the dressing for a light salad, patented his work. In the USA, the appetizer is very popular in its classic version with chicken, as it is filling and low-calorie. Half of Hollywood actors, who carefully monitor their diet to stay in good shape, prefer this salad over all others.

Compound:

  • anchovies – 2 pcs.;
  • raw egg – 1 pc.;
  • Dijon mustard – ½ tsp;
  • fresh lemon juice – ½ tsp;
  • olive oil – 1 tbsp;
  • vegetable oil – 2 tbsp;
  • Worcestershire sauce - ¼ tsp;

The manufacturing procedure is as follows.

  1. Boil water in a saucepan, remove from heat and lower the egg into it for 1 minute. Then cool the egg without using ice water.
  2. Pour the egg into a blender, add lemon juice and add mustard. Beat the mixture until smooth.
  3. Remove the anchovies from the ridge and chop the fillets into small pieces. Add them to the creamed mixture along with both types of butter, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and salt.
  4. Pour the prepared dressing into a porcelain sauceboat and serve separately from the salad, if it contains croutons.

Mayonnaise based

The cafeteria menu also includes Caesar salad, but they don’t put any effort into creating a special sauce. Usually it is seasoned with ready-made mayonnaise. If you mix mayonnaise with a few selected ingredients, the snack will acquire a recognizable taste.

Compound:

  • mayonnaise – 240 ml;
  • garlic – 1-2 cloves;
  • Worcestershire sauce – 2 tsp;

The manufacturing procedure is as follows.

  1. Crush the garlic with a press and place in a blender. Add mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice. Salt and pepper.
  2. Beat the mixture until smooth.

The yogurt-based Caesar sauce is light and fluffy. Adherents of diets and healthy eating should pay attention to this recipe. You need to choose natural yogurt, without sweet additives.

Compound:

  • yogurt – 125 ml;
  • raw egg – 2 pcs.;
  • fresh lemon juice – 2 tbsp;
  • Dijon mustard – 1 tsp;
  • garlic – 1-2 cloves;
  • Parmesan cheese – 20 g;
  • ½ tsp each salt and ground pepper.
  1. Keep the eggs in boiling water for 1 minute, then cool without ice water and pour into a blender.
  2. Add the remaining ingredients to them, pour in the yogurt last.
  3. Whisk the sauce until smooth.

With mustard and yolks

Many people are afraid to cook dishes using raw eggs. For the sauce with mustard and yolks you will need them hard-boiled. Only the yolk is removed from the cooled egg; the white can be put into another snack.

Compound:

  • boiled yolks – 2 pcs.;
  • fresh lemon juice – 2.5 tbsp;
  • mustard – ½ tbsp;
  • olive oil – 120 ml;
  • 1/3 tsp each salt and ground pepper.

The manufacturing procedure is as follows.

  1. Place the yolks in a bowl and mash with a fork.
  2. Pour olive oil and lemon juice into them, add mustard and stir.
  3. Adjust the amount of salt and pepper to taste.

For the anchovy salad

When a snack includes specific ingredients, such as anchovies, the sauce should resonate with them. Pieces of anchovies, capers and hard cheese will perfectly complement the taste of the salad.

Compound:

  • anchovies – 2 pcs.;
  • raw egg – 1 pc.;
  • Dijon mustard – 1 tsp;
  • fresh lemon juice – 4 tbsp;
  • olive oil – 2.5 tbsp;
  • Parmesan cheese – 30 g;
  • canned capers – 1 tsp;
  • yogurt – 3 tbsp;
  • salt – 1/3 tsp.

The manufacturing procedure is as follows.

  1. Carefully separate the yolk from the white and beat it with mustard and salt.
  2. Gradually add liquid ingredients and grated Parmesan. Lastly, add capers and chopped anchovy fillets to the mixture and pour in the yogurt.
  3. Season the salad with the sauce, and place the remainder in a jar, cover with a lid and put it in the refrigerator.

Based on sour cream

The sour cream for the sauce should be liquid, otherwise, when you add the dressing to the salad, it will be difficult to distribute it evenly. This Caesar dressing will have a creamy flavor that true gourmets will love. It is also suitable for those who decide to avoid fish in its composition.

Compound:

  • sour cream with fat content up to 20% - 80 ml;
  • table mustard – 1 tsp;
  • Dijon mustard – 1 tsp;
  • garlic – 2 cloves;
  • Worcestershire sauce - 1 tbsp;
  • a pinch of salt and ground pepper.

The manufacturing procedure is as follows.

  1. Crush the garlic in a press and place in a blender.
  2. Add sour cream, both types of mustard, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce to it. Beat the mixture until smooth.

Cheese dressing

Caesar cheese sauce has more calories, but it is more appetizing and brighter than similar dressings. Americans love to eat fried chicken wings and nuggets with it. The salad with cheese dressing is very filling and can easily replace an afternoon snack.

Compound:

  • anchovies – 3 pcs.;
  • raw egg – 1 pc.;
  • Dijon mustard – 1 tsp;
  • fresh lemon juice – 1 tsp;
  • olive oil – 1 tbsp;
  • garlic – 2 cloves;
  • Parmesan cheese – 50 g;
  • a pinch of salt and ground pepper.

The manufacturing procedure is as follows.

  1. First, beat the chopped anchovy fillets, garlic and egg in a blender.
  2. Next, pour the liquid ingredients into the mixture and add grated Parmesan. Add salt, pepper and spices to taste.

With Worcestershire sauce

Worcestershire sauce has a strong flavor, so do not exceed the amount specified in the recipe. In Caesar salad dressing, each component plays its role. The sweet and sour flavors of the dressing, invented by British pharmacists, are revealed gradually.

The exact recipe for Worcestershire sauce is patented by manufacturing companies, and those who want to prepare it at home face many problems.

By slightly violating the proportion of the products included in its composition, housewives will receive a completely inedible dressing. It’s better to find a bottle with a label from a trusted supplier, and focus your efforts on creating Caesar sauce.

Compound:

  • anchovies – 2 pcs.;
  • raw egg – 4 pcs.;
  • Dijon mustard – 2 tsp;
  • fresh lemon juice – 1 tbsp;
  • garlic – 2 cloves;
  • olive oil – 4 tbsp;
  • Parmesan cheese – 50 g;
  • Worcestershire sauce – 2 tsp;
  • a pinch of salt and ground pepper.

The manufacturing procedure is as follows.

  1. Eggs can be kept in boiling water for 1 minute or poured raw into a blender.
  2. Add crushed garlic, mustard to them and beat.
  3. Next, add Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice. Finally, sprinkle in the grated Parmesan.

Caesar sauce with lemon is intended for lovers of spicy dressings. It is prepared without eggs. Thanks to the addition of Tabasco, it will be unique and scorching.

Compound:

  • anchovies – 2 pcs.;
  • Tabasco sauce – 3-4 drops;
  • Dijon mustard – 2 tsp;
  • fresh lemon juice – 2.5 tbsp;
  • olive oil – 80 ml;
  • Parmesan cheese – 50 g;
  • garlic – 1 clove;
  • a pinch of salt and ground pepper.

The manufacturing procedure is as follows.

  1. Crush the garlic in a press and beat with Dijon mustard and Tabasco.
  2. Next add olive oil, chopped anchovy fillets, lemon juice, pepper and salt. Lastly, add the grated cheese.
  3. Beat until smooth.

If the sauce was stored in the refrigerator, before serving, you need to take it out in advance, let it warm up slightly, and mix thoroughly with a spoon before adding it to the salad.

When guests are already on the doorstep, and there is no Worcestershire sauce at home, balsamic vinegar or Thai oyster sauce can successfully replace it. Another option for almost equivalent substitution is the use of anchovies in oil. They will add sourness and a piquant flavor to the sauce.

Caesar sauce has a fairly large set of ingredients. In case of an allergy to one of them, the product must be removed and its absence must be compensated by increasing the volume of other components.

Conclusion

With different dressings, the famous salad takes on new colors. The photo shows that the sauces differ in both color and consistency. They are used to season a dish with chicken or seafood if it is prepared without croutons. If you add croutons, the Caesar salad dressing should be placed separately so that everyone can add the required amount to the plate.

Caesar salad is as versatile in terms of ingredients as its dressing. Its composition can be changed depending on your mood and desire to pamper yourself with a more spicy or low-calorie sauce. The main thing is that the addition to the snack is prepared from fresh and high-quality products, and their proportions are selected to taste.

My name is Julia Jenny Norman, and I am an author of articles and books. I cooperate with the publishing houses "OLMA-PRESS" and "AST", as well as with glossy magazines. Currently I help promote virtual reality projects. I have European roots, but I spent most of my life in Moscow. There are many museums and exhibitions here that charge you with positivity and give inspiration. In my spare time I study French medieval dances. I am interested in any information about that era. I offer you articles that can captivate you with a new hobby or simply give you pleasant moments. You need to dream about something beautiful, then it will come true!

The recipe for mayonnaise sauce for Caesar salad was invented at the beginning of the 20th century. Since then it has become incredibly popular. These days, the salad of the same name is served in any eatery. Reputable restaurants are also happy to offer it to their visitors. The fact is that the dish is surprisingly easy to prepare and has an exceptional taste. In our article we will talk about how to make a decent Caesar dressing.

The history of the creation of the famous gas station

Caesar sauce came to us from America. It was invented during Prohibition. The Cardini Hotel was located in Mexico, literally a stone's throw from the US border. Of course, the ill-fated law did not apply in this territory. In 1924, the sophisticated American elite celebrated Independence Day in the hotel restaurant. Among the guests were famous Hollywood representatives. They immediately ate all the snacks and began to wait for the banquet to continue. The owner of the establishment (his name was Caesar) had to urgently come up with a way out of the situation. He collected all the ingredients left in the kitchen and in a few minutes created a new salad, seasoning it with an unusual sauce. Visitors liked the treat so much that they began to serve it regularly in the restaurant. We didn’t puzzle over the name for a long time. The new salad and sauce for it received the name of its creator - Caesar.

Cooking features

  1. The classic recipe for Caesar dressing with mayonnaise involves the use of Worcestershire sauce. It enriches the dressing with pleasant flavor notes. The fishy flavor makes the salad mix unique. Anchovies are added to it for the same purpose.
  2. However, Worcestershire sauce is not easy to come by. Supermarkets are full of all kinds of delicacies, but even in them you can’t always find the right ingredients. In this case, it is better to replace the original sauce with soy sauce. Or buy balsamic vinegar. Tabasco or a tablespoon of anchovies will also work as an alternative. Oyster sauce from Thai cuisine is also an option.
  3. The process of creating Caesar sauce with mayonnaise and mustard is very similar to cooking. However, the taste is much more interesting and richer. The same dressing is suitable for salad with chicken, shrimp and even avocado.
  4. The finished product must be stored in a tightly closed container. It should sit in the refrigerator for no more than two days. It must be stirred before use.

Ingredients for classic sauce

Recipes for Caesar salad sauce are very diverse. For the most part, they resemble mayonnaise with various fillings. The most common is the classic version. It involves mixing ingredients that are usually found in homemade mayonnaise:

  • egg - two pieces;
  • mustard - one tablespoon;
  • anchovies - two pieces;
  • Worcestershire or oyster sauce - one teaspoon;
  • garlic - a couple of cloves;
  • olive (vegetable) oil - 250-300 grams;
  • sugar - one teaspoon;
  • lemon juice squeezed from one half of the fruit.

How to make Caesar dressing without mayonnaise

  1. First of all, you need to separate the egg whites from the yolks.
  2. The yolks must be mixed with one tablespoon of mustard.
  3. After this, combine the mixture with Worcestershire sauce, crushed garlic, salt and sugar.
  4. Next, you need to place the mixture in the blender bowl and start blending at low speed.
  5. During the process, the speed must be increased by combining the ingredients with sunflower (olive) oil. It should be added in small portions with constant whisking.
  6. When the oil runs out and the sauce thickens, add lemon juice.
  7. After this, the mixture must be thoroughly beaten again. The consistency should resemble thick sour cream.

The sauce is ready! You can dress the salad.

Mayonnaise Caesar sauce: composition

This option tastes almost no different from the classic one. This makes the sauce cook much faster. To make the dressing for this recipe, you will have to stock up on the following products.

  • mayonnaise - 200 grams;
  • Worcestershire sauce - two teaspoons;
  • garlic - one clove;
  • juice of one half of a lemon;
  • black pepper, salt - to taste.

Instructions for making mayonnaise sauce

  1. First you need to squeeze a clove of garlic through a press.
  2. Then you need to mix pepper, garlic, mayonnaise, juice of half a lemon and Worcestershire sauce in one bowl.
  3. After this, beat the ingredients using a mixer or immersion blender into a single mass.

Mayonnaise Caesar sauce is ready to use. Help yourself to your health!

List of products for creating mustard sauce

Now we will move from simple to complex. This option is more piquant. Plus it contains Parmesan. This will add additional flavor notes to the mayonnaise Caesar dressing. All ingredients can be easily found in your nearest supermarket:

  • garlic - two cloves;
  • mustard (not spicy) - one teaspoon;
  • Worcestershire sauce - one teaspoon;
  • parmesan - fifty grams;
  • mayonnaise - 250 grams (one glass);
  • anchovies - two or three pieces;
  • salt, pepper - to taste.

How to make mustard sauce

  1. First you need to crush the garlic with one pinch of table salt.
  2. Then you need to add a glass of mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice to the mixture. In addition, there should be anchovies and mustard in the bowl.
  3. After this, all ingredients should be whipped into a solid mass.
  4. Next, you need to chop the Parmesan cheese on a fine grater and add it along with the pepper into the future mayonnaise Caesar sauce.
  5. Then everything must be thoroughly beaten again. The result is an appetizing dressing characterized by a piquant taste and aroma.

Sauce with olives and yolks. Ingredients

Don't have olive oil? It's OK! You can use sunflower or prepare Caesar dressing based on mayonnaise according to the following recipe:

Ingredients:

  • sour cream - 100 grams;
  • mayonnaise - 100 grams;
  • boiled yolks - two pieces;
  • balsamic vinegar - one tablespoon;
  • olives (pitted) - 15 pieces;
  • salt, pepper - to taste.

Cooking method:

  1. First you need to boil the eggs.
  2. Then you need to grind the yolks and mix them with balsamic vinegar.
  3. Next, combine the resulting mass with mayonnaise and sour cream.
  4. After this, pepper and salt everything.
  5. Then the olives must be cut into small pieces and poured into the future sauce.
  6. Finally, you need to season it with garlic and herbs, let it stand for a few minutes and add it to a pre-prepared salad.

Sauce with milk and cheese

This option also has a right to exist. Many people have doubts about hard cheese. And in vain. If you chop it well, it will be an excellent addition to a thick salad dressing.

Ingredients:

  • mayonnaise -150 grams;
  • lemon juice - two tablespoons;
  • garlic - a few cloves;
  • milk (cream) - three to four tablespoons;
  • Parmesan or other hard cheese one tablespoon;
  • salt and freshly ground pepper - to taste.

Cooking method:

  1. First, you need to grind the garlic together with salt. This needs to be done with a mortar in a deep bowl.
  2. After this, you need to add mayonnaise to the mixture and mix everything thoroughly.
  3. Then add lemon juice and milk to the future sauce. Then you need to add finely grated Parmesan cheese. Everything needs to be thoroughly mixed again, salt and pepper to taste.

Here is another version of the sauce with mayonnaise. For Caesar with chicken, crispy salad and spicy croutons, it will be just right.

Little tricks

No housewife can do without little tricks. They are often acquired through long and hard work. We offer you some of them in finished form:

  • Caesar salad sauce with mayonnaise, mustard and other ingredients will be tastier if the garlic for it is finely chopped, poured with sunflower oil and left to steep for half an hour.
  • You can use dried garlic instead of fresh garlic. Then you will need 3-4 times less of it. The vegetable will need to be mixed with the rest of the ingredients and given time to swell.
  • To obtain a completely homogeneous dressing, similar to sour cream or mayonnaise, you need to immediately place all the ingredients in a blender bowl and beat.
  • If the sauce turns out to be too liquid, it is better to add finely grated cheese or boiled yolks to it.

Homemade mayonnaise recipe

If you want to get delicious mayonnaise, then prepare it yourself. There are a lot of creation options. We present to your attention a recipe for homemade sauce with boiled yolks. In order to make it, you need to buy the following ingredients:

  • chicken eggs - four pieces;
  • vegetable oil - 200 milliliters;
  • lemon juice - 50 milliliters;
  • garlic - two cloves;
  • mustard - to taste.

Cooking method:

  1. First of all, you need to boil and smoke eggs.
  2. After this, you need to separate the whites from the yolks. The latter should be placed in a deep container, mixed with salt and ground until smooth with a spoon.
  3. Then you need to beat the ingredients with a mixer, gradually adding oil.
  4. When the composition becomes completely white and fluffy enough, you need to pour lemon juice into it.
  5. Then whisk the sauce again, gradually adding oil if there is any left.
  6. At the very end, you need to pass the garlic through a press and add it to the rest of the ingredients along with mustard.
  7. Now homemade mayonnaise needs to be thoroughly cooled and then used for its intended purpose.

Caesar salad confidently replaces Olivier. And just as we cooked something with green peas and mayonnaise with our eyes closed, it’s time to learn how to quickly and tasty make the famous dish of American-Italian cooking.

Moreover, neither the salad nor the sauce is difficult to prepare. You just need to know a few secrets.

Secrets of making Caesar salad sauce

1 Forget about store-bought mayonnaise! Today a special one “under Caesar” is also on sale. It tastes tolerable, but still “not the same” - if only because the Caesar dressing is prepared at the same time as the salad. Everything should be fresh and handmade, not industrial.

2 If you want to make Caesar dressing with an inimitable signature accent, you can't do without Worcestershire sauce. Today this culinary delight can sometimes be found in large supermarkets. What is Worcestershire sauce? A very unique tasting (and mysterious - from 26 to 40 components, including secret ones!) English dressing, which contains anchovies, by the way, “scented”!

Regarding Worcestershire sauce, you can hear that nothing can replace it, and this is true... In addition, culinaryly advanced people will say that you need to be able to choose the manufacturer. We sell Heinz, which is considered pop, and it’s better to look for Lea & Perrins...

However, if you can’t, but really want to make Caesar sauce, replace the arrogant English ingredient with a more affordable balsamic vinegar, or, in extreme cases, soy or wine vinegar.

3 There are different opinions about whether this Caesar dressing recipe includes anchovies. According to the first, Worcestershire sauce already has a fishy accent, and that's enough. According to the second, anchovies cannot be spoiled by anchovies. If you live in a large city, you will find this fish. No - it’s not bad (although not ideal) to replace them with sprats in spicy salting.

4 The method of preparing eggs is special. Firstly, the eggs should not be from the refrigerator, otherwise they will burst during cooking, and in general... you need “live” ones, not “frozen ones”. Secondly, they don’t even need to be cooked. Drop the eggs, in their shells or without them, into boiling water (poached) and almost immediately remove the pan from the heat. Now let them stand for a minute or two. It is in this semi-liquid state that we need them.

Ingredients

Serving for 1 egg

  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce*
  • 1 tbsp. l. balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp. mustard**
  • 1 tbsp. l. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1-2 tbsp. l. refined olive oil
  • 4 anchovy fillets (sprat half the size)***
  • 1/8 tsp. dried garlic
  • 1 tbsp. l. finely chopped onion
  • 2 tbsp. l. lime juice
  • 1 drop Tabasco sauce (optional)
  • freshly ground pepper and salt to taste

*If you don't have Worcestershire sauce, add more vinegar or fish sauce or thick soy sauce.

**If using mild French mustard, use more than the amount indicated.

***If you do use Worcestershire, it is better to do without anchovies.

Caesar sauce is the dressing for the famous Caesar salad, its soul and heart. It doesn’t surprise us at all that a wonderful sauce that goes so well with one salad can perfectly complement another. Remembering the history of the creation of Caesar salad, we must not forget that it was a great culinary improvisation. Based on traditional principles and classical combinations, supported by the good taste of the author, but still improvisation. Keeping in mind the “basic values” of classic salad dressing, “Culinary Eden” will try to prepare several different-tasting sauces suitable for Caesar salad or variations on its theme.

Historical reference. Caesar dressing appeared at the same time as the salad of the famous chef Caesar Cardini, who invented the salad for guests on US Independence Day in 1924. When the audience ate all the prepared treats and demanded another appetizer, Cardini assembled his salad from the “leftovers”, seasoned it with a fairly universal dressing, diversifying its taste with Worcestershire (Worcestershire or Worcestershire) sauce. Contrary to popular belief, the original salad and sauce did not contain anchovies. Worcestershire sauce added a slight fishy tint to the taste, which in modern versions is often replaced with something else or anchovies are added.

Let's not be bookish and allow ourselves to try different versions of Caesar sauce; perhaps their differences will only expand the culinary boundaries. The most important thing is to remember that the sauce is always prepared for a specific dish. And often the composition of the salad itself dictates the composition of the sauce, demanding to emphasize the merits of the dish, enhance or hide certain properties of the components.

Original sauce for Caesar salad included:

Olive oil
Garlic
Black pepper
Vinegar
Lime juice
Egg, boiled in a bag
Worcestershire sauce
Salt

The exact quantities of the ingredients have not been preserved, but in general terms the preparation of the original Caesar sauce went like this. Crushed garlic is intensively beaten in olive oil (as for Aioli sauce), vinegar, lime juice and grated egg are added. At the very end, the taste of the sauce is enriched with a few drops of Worcestershire sauce and added some salt.

As you can see, the sauce is arch-classical. The traditional Mediterranean dressing for the most common salads is enlivened only by the presence of an almost raw egg and Worcestershire sauce. The latter gives that same “slightly fishy” aroma in the salad, as it contains anchovies. When preparing the original sauce, no additional inclusions of anchovies or “spicy salted sprat” are required, otherwise the salad risks losing its balance and going towards fishy smells and tastes, which is not true.

However, the logic of Mediterranean gas stations does not seem ideal everywhere; in many places on the planet they like to experiment. The search for new tastes sometimes leads to the birth of a new dish, and this is wonderful. As a rule, the search path begins with replacing rare ingredients - Worcestershire (Worcestershire) sauce, wine or balsamic vinegar, olive oil - with familiar products.

The most difficult situation is with Worcestershire sauce. Of course, to recreate the taste of a real Caesar salad, you can find it, especially since one bottle is enough for many years of experiments and attempts to reproduce rare dishes and dressings, for example, the original Olivier salad sauce or in a dozen exotic cocktails. But the absence of this rare sauce in Russia should not stop real experimenters. Let us remember that at the time of the appearance of sauces like Worcestershire, sailors still remembered the ketsap sauce from Southeast Asia, based on fermented fish and many aromatic additives. Ketsap smoothly moved to the Old World, acquired the name ketchup and a new taste, more noble and worthy of the nose of a Western European. Next, ketchup traveled to the New World, got rid of the fishy taste and decided that tomatoes were the best base. Finally, the ancient Roman sauce garum from fermented fish may have disappeared forever from kitchens, but it is likely imprinted in the genotype or collective unconscious of Europeans. The British instinctively restored (with improvements, of course) this ancient Roman sauce and called it Worcestershire (Worcestershire). And as we know, the USA consists of some percentage of the British, Irish and Scots, and you can guess the inevitable longing for the taste of your favorite sauce and its popularity in Caesar salad dressing. The insidious Cardini may not have thought about it, but he mixed neo-English sauce into the salad dressing on the day of US independence from England and named it with his name, painfully similar to the name of the great Roman emperor. The victory of cooking over politics.

Cardini prepared more than a salad. It is a masterpiece. And his genius lies precisely in simplicity and the combination of classical combinations with the author’s view. And all this is impromptu! Of course, the sauce can be changed, and the composition of the salad can differ greatly from the original. Moreover, the Russian view of this confrontation between the colony and the metropolis is maximally focused on flavor combinations, and Worcestershire sauce in Russia has no cult or historical basis. We have very little in common with the Romans, Americans and English, which is why both the sauce and Caesar salad in Russia are prepared a little differently than their creator did.

Replace Worcestershire (Worcestershire) sauce. Let's go back to the original and try using any Asian fish sauce. Of course, the usual taste will change, so take your time and add it with extreme caution. Try making a basic Caesar dressing without the missing ingredients, separate out a small amount (like one tablespoon) and add a splash of fish sauce to it. Typically, Thai (or any other Asian) fish sauce calls for a little balsamic sauce to go with it. Required - add.

If you couldn't get fish sauce, no problem, try the same thing with thick soy sauce and a drop of balsamic vinegar. This is where you will need anchovies - a microportion of anchovy fillet. They are usually ground into a paste and mixed with liquid ingredients, adding thickness to the sauce. If you couldn’t get anchovies either, try a piece of spicy sprat salting Just for God's sake, don't call this salad Caesar, call it Caligula or at least Nero. Replacing Worcestershire sauce with Tabasco, balsamic vinegar or mustard is not equivalent and greatly changes the original taste, but if you want to change the ingredients consciously or in a fit of inspiration, then this is quite acceptable. Thousands of incredibly delicious dishes have appeared thanks to improvisation.

Other replacements. Yes, you can replace the lime with lemon, but only if you can’t find lime. You can replace a country egg with a store-bought one, but the taste will be poorer. Of course, you can replace wine and balsamic vinegar with regular vinegar, but then it’s better to do without vinegar altogether. You can even use something other than olive oil, but then you don’t have to scold “this tasteless Caesar salad.” The oil, by the way, should be extra virgin of the best quality.

A couple more details. It would be a good idea to warm the egg to room temperature before boiling. Place it in boiling water, turn off the heat and remove after a minute. If the protein has bound, try again and reduce the time. Do not be lazy to make freshly ground pepper. If the taste of the sauce is hopelessly boring, and you could not find spicy fish sauce or even soy sauce, then a spoonful of Dijon mustard will help take the taste of the sauce to a different plane. The same can be recommended when using meat or other intense flavor substitutes in salad. Dress the salad sparingly. It’s better to add the dressing later than to see the pitiful sight of a wet salad drowning in liquid. This also applies to salt - it’s never too late to add salt to the finished dish, it only refreshes the perception.

To enrich or not to saturate Caesar sauce with anchovies or “spicy sprats”? This is optional. Try a neutral range of flavors first; it’s easier to add spiciness and brightness than to return lightness to the taste. By the way, Cardini did not use anchovies, and the recipe with their presence appeared later in the wake of the craze for fashionable bright fast food flavors. If in doubt, use the universal rule of salad composition: the bright taste of the ingredients requires an expressive sauce and vice versa.

It is clear that it is difficult to navigate by descriptions, and it is not always possible to combine several tastes in your mind. For For orientation, here are examples of variations on the theme of Caesar sauce:

Option #1:

2 yolks,
2 cloves of garlic,
1 tbsp. spoon of olive oil,
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard,
½ (or less) teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar,
1 tbsp. spoon of lemon juice,
1 drop Tabasco,
salt,
pepper.

Mix raw yolks with garlic, add oil in a thin stream, beat thoroughly with a fork and mix with the rest of the ingredients.

Option #2:

1 whole egg
1 clove of garlic,
3 anchovies,
1 tbsp. spoon of lemon juice,
½ tbsp. spoons of olive oil,
a few drops of Worcestershire sauce
1 drop of red Tabasco,
salt,
pepper.

Boil the egg into a bag (the white is just starting to coagulate), peel and grind with anchovies and crushed garlic. Beat with a fork while adding butter. Add sauces, pepper and salt. Add lemon juice at the end while whisking vigorously.

Option #3:

This is a simple but delicious dressing recipe reminiscent of the times when the Mediterranean was synonymous with the Roman Empire.

1 raw yolk,
1/3 tbsp. spoons of olive oil,
1-2 anchovies,
1 teaspoon Parmesan.

Grind the yolk with butter, whisking, add anchovies and parmesan, grated on a fine grater. As a rule, no salt is required in this case. You can develop your own variations based on this recipe. You can add more oil, lemon juice, pepper and garlic and get a brighter and closer to the classic taste.

So, you can easily and simply “customize” the dressing for a great salad, getting many variations of Caesar sauce and shades of taste of the famous dish. Cook, try, experiment and remember that any, even the most daring experiment in cooking should be based on basic principles and classic combinations, like the original Caesar dressing.