Caesar salad sauce - the trump card of ingredients: recipe with photos and videos

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Caesar salad dressing has as many different variations as the salad itself. The classic Caesar salad is deeply debated. A quick search online will bring up over a million recipes, each one different. Some claim that the classic does not contain anchovies. There are recipes without egg yolks, as well as sauces made with tofu and even mayonnaise, but none of them are the best option for Caesar. This salad's best dressing starts with anchovies and garlic, which emulsifies with raw egg yolks, mustard and two types of oils. The best Caesar salad dressing is deceptively simple and delicious—and that's about it.

When making a classic salad, it is highly recommended to use extra virgin olive oil. But that's not the case with Caesar salad, which has garlic, extra fat from the egg yolk, and even Parmesan cheese at the end to mask the taste of really good olive oil.

Typically, a small amount of olive oil is used to base the sauce (again, extra virgin is a good choice, but not required) and then finished with a neutral oil of your choice. Sunflower oil is slightly worse, but you can easily use grape, rapeseed or other neutral oil.

As for canned anchovies, which are also unchanged in any version of the sauce, their relevance is characterized by availability and unique taste. They are also suitable for long-term storage, making them a worthy addition to any pantry. However, some sources note that Worcestershire sauce may have been the original source of the elegant, meaty flavor in the classic Caesar salad. But there is nothing stopping you from using both anchovies and Worcestershire sauce in the same salad.

Oily anchovies are best suited for making Caesar dressing.

How to make Caesar dressing at home - 15 varieties

Caesar dressing - classic variation
Dressing with red pepper and Dijon mustard with horseradish
Caesar dressing with hemp seeds and seasonings
Dressing for Caesar with anchovy fillets and cheese - the task becomes more complicated
"Caesar" sauce with olives
Caesar sauce with capers
Dressing with anchovy paste
Caesar dressing with basil
Sauce based on croutons
Dijon mustard dressing
Tabasco based dressing
Fresh basil sauce
Caesar dressing with miso paste
Caesar dressing based on yogurt and soy sauce
White onion sauce for Caesar

Description of preparation:

This salad will decorate any table.
Prepared according to a traditional recipe, your loved ones and guests will certainly enjoy it. You will also learn how to prepare Caesar dressing, which makes the salad incredibly tasty and rich. The combination of all the ingredients makes this dish very beautiful and satisfying. Be sure to try making it at home! Purpose: For lunch / For dinner / For a quick meal Main ingredient: Poultry / Chicken / Lettuce / Dairy products / Cheese / Eggs / Chicken breast / Parmesan / Greens Dish: Salads / Caesar salad

Caesar dressing - classic variation

A classic sauce recipe will help a novice cook master the basics without sacrificing taste. The cooking process is not particularly complicated, but you must first purchase important ingredients that are not always available at home.

Ingredients:

Garlic clove - 1 pc.
Salt - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Raw egg yolk – 1 pc.
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Wine vinegar - 1 tsp
Olive oil – 40-50 ml
Worcestershire sauce - 1 tsp
Tabasco - 3-4 drops
Ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

At the initial stage, you need to prepare the garlic mass. You need to remove the core from the garlic clove. The garlic is crushed with a blade, then crushed with the edge of the knife, and then chopped again. And this must be done until you get a homogeneous garlic paste.

Salt is added to this mass and mixed.

Mustard and raw yolk are placed in the container, the ingredients are thoroughly mixed with a whisk. Then lemon juice, garlic paste, wine vinegar, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco are added to the total mass. With the addition of each ingredient, the mixture is mixed well.

The finishing touch is ground black pepper. The resulting mass should not be too sparse.

Composition and features of the original Worcestershire

Real Worcestershire sauce is not boiled, but rather aged in oak barrels for at least 2 years, which makes it difficult to make at home. Plus, the sauce proportions and production technology are still kept secret.

Interesting fact! Worcestershire sauce is named after the British county of Worcestershire, where it was invented in the distant 19th century by two pharmacists, W. Perrinsky and D. Lea. They later registered their own brand, Lea & Perrins, but commercial production began only 60 years later.

The history of Worcester is shrouded in secrets and legends. According to one of them, the sauce was prepared to order and the first time it was not successful. They simply forgot about it, and a few years later they found an unsuccessful, dusty sample in the cellar, tried it and were shocked by the taste that had changed over time.

Worcestershire sauce is not only original, but also versatile. At home, it is added to marinades, stews, scrambled eggs, many hot and cold snacks, and even flavored sandwiches.

However, the classic Caesar salad, the legendary Bloody Mary cocktail and the unique roast beef prepared according to an old English recipe brought enormous popularity to the Worcestershire.

Curious! For the British, Worcestershire is as popular a product as soy sauce is for the Chinese or teriyaki for the Japanese.

An approximate list of ingredients from which the original Worcestershire is made:

drinking water;
anchovies (small fish);
vinegar;
burnt sugar;
onion;
ginger;
Bay leaf;
horseradish;
shallot (onion);
a mixture of different peppers, salt;
curry;
tamarind (a legume fruit);
chilli;
tarragon;
celery;
lemon juice;
nutmeg;
meat extract;
asafoetida (tree resin seasoning);

Curious! Lea & Perrins is the official supplier of Worcestershire to the Royal Court of England.

Dressing with red pepper and Dijon mustard with horseradish

For those who love spicy flavors, this recipe will be a favorite. In addition to red pepper, the original mustard with horseradish, which combines sweetness and spiciness at the same time, adds piquancy.

Ingredients:

Mayonnaise - 3 tbsp
Dijon mustard with horseradish - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 3 cloves
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Ground red pepper - a pinch

Preparation:

Everything is simple and clear: mustard, chopped garlic, lemon juice and pepper are added to mayonnaise. Everything gets mixed up. You can make homemade mayonnaise by combining the yolk of a chicken egg, mustard and sunflower oil.

Caesar dressing with hemp seeds and seasonings

This sauce will appeal to those gourmets who love herbs and seasonings. The composition of the dressing is varied, so purchasing products in this case requires careful preparatory work.

Ingredients:

Olive oil – 200 ml
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Ground black pepper
Garlic - 4 cloves
Hemp seeds - 5 tbsp
Tahini - 1 tbsp
Oregano - 1/4 tsp

Preparation:

Although the variety of products makes you think that cooking is difficult, this is not at all the case. Place everything in a blender and mix at maximum speed. If there is no blender, then the components are combined gradually and thoroughly mixed with a whisk.

Dressing for Caesar with anchovy fillets and cheese - the task becomes more complicated

This recipe has an extended list of ingredients that need to be prepared in advance. Parmesan cheese will add a special flavor, and anchovy fillets will make the sauce more spicy.

Ingredients:

Eggs - 2 pcs
Sunflower oil – 200 ml
Mustard - 1.5 tsp
Garlic - 2 cloves
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
Worcestershire sauce - 1 tbsp
Anchovy fillet – 6 – 8 pcs.
Parmesan cheese – 20 g
Salt

Preparation:

This variation of the dressing is considered more saturated, so more components are needed. You should take two eggs; there is no need to separate the yolk from the white. Add sunflower oil and mix well (you can use a blender).

Then you need to add chopped garlic, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce.

The cheese is grated and added along with anchovy fillets. Salt to taste and mix again until smooth.

To make it more convenient to measure the amount of required components, you can use a measuring cup and mix the ingredients in it. If you have a blender available, you can take the glass that comes with it.

Cooking Caesar: culinary subtleties

Salad

Choose the freshest greens. In the traditional version, it should be romaine - it was from this that the first Cesar was prepared. But in modern variations it is also possible to use some other varieties: iceberg or lettuce.

If, nevertheless, the leaves have managed to wither a little, and you definitely need to prepare Caesar salad today, use a proven method. Soak it for half an hour in cool water (you can even add ice). This way they will become stronger again and the dish will not be spoiled.

Crackers

To prepare Cesar salad, they are usually made from white bread, cut into squares. The most interesting taste is obtained if the crackers are not just baked, but lightly fried in olive oil flavored with herbs and garlic. In some cases, whole toast is used. Modern cuisine is moving away from traditional white bread, using rye, whole grain and even buckwheat varieties.

A little secret to making Caesar tastier: use both olive and butter for frying croutons. Melt the butter in the olive oil until slightly sizzling, then add the sliced bread. Fry with constant stirring until the crust turns golden on all sides. Remove from heat and place on paper towels to remove excess oil.

It is possible, and even necessary, to use slightly stale bread for crackers. This will make them crispier, and you will prepare a real Cesar salad. But be careful when baking or frying, don’t overcook! You want the croutons to be crispy but soft in the middle.

Sauce

The classic composition of Caesar salad involves the use of real Worcestershire sauce. Additional ingredients may change, but this one should remain the same. Don't try to make Worcestershire sauce yourself. It contains too many complex ingredients: malt vinegar, anchovies, lemon balm and two dozen different spices. Achieving the right balance of flavor at home is extremely difficult. Therefore, if you want to prepare Cesar correctly, do not skimp on this component.

But don’t think that the dressing in this case is just Worcestershire sauce. No, it must be diluted with lemon juice, beaten raw egg, olive oil and grated Parmesan.

Perhaps it was thanks to this multi-component dressing that Caesar eventually received the famous culinary award - the title of the most significant culinary dish in the United States over the last half century from the Epicurean Society in Paris.

Innings

It’s not enough to know how to cook a delicious Caesar. It is also important to be able to present it correctly. In the post-Soviet space, there is a strange understanding of the word salad, where all the ingredients are invariably placed in a bowl, poured with dressing, mixed almost to a mushy state, and after that this mixture is laid out on plates and served to guests. In the case of our dish, this approach is fundamentally wrong.

When we prepare a salad, we first need to tear some of the lettuce leaves with our hands and place them in portions in a serving bowl. Then pour in some of the dressing. The remaining leaves, sauce, Parmesan and some of the croutons are mixed together and placed on a plate. Next, everything is sprinkled with the remaining croutons and the remaining portion of Parmesan. This is the only way we get a real Caesar salad, the recipe for which was created by Cardini.

"Caesar" sauce with olives

In this case, the classic recipe is improved with the help of olives. This derivative of the sauce differs from the usual dish, but is in no way inferior to the familiar dressing.

Ingredients:

Mayonnaise - 3 tbsp
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 2 cloves
Parmesan cheese - 50 g
Olives - 10 pcs

Preparation:

The garlic is crushed to a pulp, and the cheese is grated on a fine grater.

Place all ingredients in a blender bowl and mix.

If suddenly there is too much garlic, then the taste can be balanced with more cheese.

Caesar recipes

Having figured out how to properly prepare Cesar, we move on to its specific variations. For starters, the most common one.

How to make Caesar salad with chicken at home

Grocery list:

Fresh chicken fillet – 350g
Lettuce – 3 bunches
Croutons – 20 g
Hard Parmesan – 50 g
Voustre sauce
Lemon juice
Vegetable oil (preferably olive)
Salt

Beat the meat and fry. Ideally, use a grill or grill pan for this task. Dry the crackers, place in a deep container, season with olive oil. Fresh and crisp lettuce leaves are traditionally torn by hand rather than cut with a knife. Parmesan is used grated or in the form of very thin slices. Therefore, use either a fine grater or a knife to peel vegetables. After frying, cut the chicken into slices. Vegetable oil is whipped manually or in a blender with Worcestershire sauce and freshly squeezed lemon juice to the consistency of liquid mayonnaise and seasoned with spices.

Place suitably prepared lettuce leaves on plates. Drizzle with the resulting dressing, but reserve some. Place half of the croutons and Parmesan into it. Place the chicken slices beautifully on the laid out lettuce, then the leaves soaked in the sauce with croutons. Finally, add the remaining breadcrumbs on top. Treat your guests!

We also recommend that you watch the video on how to cook Caesar from Glorious Friend

Caesar sauce with capers

The salad of the same name is considered one of the most conservative. Its recipe is not subject to major changes. The same can be said about its refueling. If any new component is added, it should not interrupt the taste and be similar to the standard set of products.

Such experiments include preparing caper sauce.

Ingredients:

Eggs - 2 pcs
Sunflower oil - 1 cup
Mustard - 1 tsp
Garlic - 2 cloves
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Worcestershire sauce - 1 tsp
Anchovies – 5 – 6 pcs.
Parmesan cheese - 50 g
Capers - 2 tsp
Salt

Preparation:

Initially, eggs, salt and mustard are beaten. Vegetable oil is added to them. It is necessary to pour it in so much that the mass becomes thicker. After this, you get homemade mayonnaise, to which you should add lemon juice.

Capers and anchovies are mixed in a separate container, after which the resulting consistency is combined with mayonnaise.

Worcestershire sauce will add piquancy, and finely grated cheese will allow the sauce to become airy.

It is preferable to use refined types of oils, otherwise the taste may be modified by the aroma of plant components.

What is Worcestershire sauce

This dish originates from the English county of Worcestershire . Lord Marques Sandys ordered its production from a pharmacy in 1837 according to a recipe he brought from Bengal. The prepared mixture bore little resemblance to the original, so they forgot about the dish for a while. However, a few months later the sauce was tested by one of the pharmacists. From that moment on, the production of Worcestershire sauce began a rich and successful history. The photo shows what color this dressing has.

Compound

The manufacturing technology takes more than one month, the mixture of seasonings is classified, so it is very difficult to repeat the recipe. However, a dish that is as close as possible to the original can be prepared. The composition of Worcestershire sauce is as follows: onions, garlic, anchovies, vinegar, spices. For those who want to know how to prepare a dressing, recipes with these and other ingredients will be interesting.

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Application

Worcestershire is ideal for adding a piquant flavor to meat dishes such as steak. It is also included in classic recipes. The famous Caesar was originally made with the addition of English sauce , but now you can often find this salad with anchovies, which are placed separately. Many cocktails are prepared with Worcestershire. Decent bars add it to the Bloody Mary cocktail along with Tabasco, it turns out very tasty.

What to replace

Getting original Worcestershire sauce from the UK is difficult and expensive, and it’s easy to run into a fake. When purchasing sauce, pay attention to the pharmaceutical one, which is owned by the popular Heinz concern. Although, as tasters note, English Heintz sauce (pictured) differs in taste from the original. If you are a fan of homemade recipes, then when asked how to replace Worcestershire sauce, there is only one answer: make it yourself.

Dressing with anchovy paste

The option with anchovy paste is also interesting. If you are unable to purchase anchovies in a jar, you can replace them with paste.

Ingredients:

Garlic - 3 cloves
Anchovy paste - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
Dijon mustard - 1 tsp
Worcestershire sauce - 1 tsp
Mayonnaise - 3 tbsp
Parmesan – 50 g
Salt, ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Initially, grind the garlic with salt to a paste. Then add all the ingredients except cheese and mix. The cheese should be added last and mixed again.

If desired, you can add simple mustard, then the dressing will be spicier.

Caesar dressing with basil

The aroma of basil will add a special flavor to the dish. This plant contains an impressive complex of vitamins: C, B2, PP, provitamin A and P-rutin. The salad dressing will be not only tasty, but also healthy.

Ingredients:

Egg yolk - 2 pcs
Mustard - 1 tsp
Vegetable oil - 200 ml
Garlic - 2 cloves
Lemon juice - 2 tsp
Dry basil
Dry white wine - 1 tbsp
Salt and sugar to taste

Preparation:

As in previous recipes, you first need to mix the yolks, butter and mustard to form mayonnaise. Then the mass is salted, peppered and basil, dry wine and lemon juice are added.

Chop the garlic and add a little oil. Combine the resulting consistency with the main sauce, blend with a blender and enjoy the taste.

North American classic Caesar salad dressing

Popular in America and not only as a dressing option for Caesar salad.

Ingredients:

Yolks – 3 pcs.
Oil
Salt, sugar
Anchovies – 2 pcs.
Garlic – 1 clove
Parmesan – 120 g
Worcestershire sauce – 1.5 tbsp.
Lemon juice

Preparation:

Beat the yolks with olive oil.

While whipping, it is better to add the oil gradually, rather than all at once, so that the sauce does not thicken.

Add salt and sugar.

Finely chop the garlic and anchovies and parmesan.

Mix all ingredients in a blender and beat.

Sauce based on croutons

This example of Caesar dressing also went through many changes and was eventually simplified to a simple version, but with a twist - crushed breadcrumbs.

Dijon mustard dressing

This version of the sauce is original thanks to the taste of Dijon mustard. It has a sweet, creamy texture and vibrant color. This quality product is imported from Burgundy, so you won’t find it in a regular store.

Also, this variation of the dressing involves a symbiosis of two types of oils: sunflower and olive.

Ingredients:

Yolk - 1 pc.
Mustard - 2 tsp
Dijon mustard - 1 tsp
Sunflower oil – 50 ml
Olive oil – 40 ml
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
Garlic - 5 small cloves
Balsamic vinegar - 1 tbsp
Parmesan cheese - 50 g
Salt
Ground black pepper

Preparation:

Place the yolk, garlic (pre-chopped if you don’t have a blender), lemon juice, finely grated cheese, salt and pepper into a blender bowl or a simple container.

Afterwards you need to add balsamic vinegar, two types of oil and mustard. Beat everything at maximum speed.

To make the sauce more piquant, you can add 3 heaped teaspoons of Dijon mustard and 2 tablespoons of hot mustard.

Original baked eggplant dressing

Ingredients:

2 small eggplants;
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar;
a teaspoon of mustard;
30 ml olive oil;
100 ml vegetable broth;
salt pepper;
half a bunch of cilantro.

See also: What does seaweed go with? What can you add to make it tastier?

Preparation:

Prick the eggplants in several places, wrap in foil, bake for 15-20 minutes at 230°C. Cool slightly, scrape out the pulp.
Place the eggplants, mustard, vinegar, and salt in a blender, add olive oil and broth, and blend. Add cilantro leaves, beat again, pepper to taste.

Eggplant can be baked in the microwave. To do this, the stalk is cut off, pricked on one side in several places, placed with the pierced side down on a flat plate and placed in the oven for 10 minutes (at a power of 800 W).

Tabasco based dressing

This option doesn't include a lot of ingredients, but the Tabasco sauce makes it delicious. It is very easy to prepare it at home.

Ingredients:

Garlic - 1 clove
Mustard -1 tsp
Yolk - 1 pc.
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Olive oil – 50 ml
Tabasco sauce - 3-4 drops

Preparation:

All components are combined and mixed in the usual way. Add 3-4 drops of Tabasco sauce to the resulting mass. It is important to adhere to the proportion so as not to spoil the taste.

Caesar salad dressing - classic

This is the most adaptable Caesar dressing recipe for making it at home in case of unplanned guests.

Ingredients:

Olive oil
Mustard
Cheese – 80 g
Garlic – 1 clove
Anchovies – 60 g
Lemon juice

Preparation:

Chop the garlic. Chop the anchovies. Mix anchovies with egg and lemon juice. Add salt, mustard, cheese, olive oil. Beat everything in a blender for about 5 minutes.

Fresh basil sauce

Fresh basil will give the sauce an incredible aroma. Even a small amount of this plant will make the dish completely different in taste.

Ingredients:

Chicken yolk - 1 pc.
Mustard - 2 tsp
Sunflower oil – 100 ml
Garlic - 2 cloves
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Fresh basil - 1 sprig

Preparation:

You need to chop the garlic and basil.

Whisk the yolk, mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl. The mixture is mixed and oil is poured in in a thin stream until mayonnaise is obtained.

Then add basil, lemon juice and garlic paste. Everything is thoroughly mixed.

Caesar dressing based on yogurt and soy sauce

This recipe is far from the classic version and the heights of culinary art. The ease of preparation and inexpensive ingredients will allow you to make it every day. But because of this, the special charm of “Caesar” is also lost, although the taste qualities of this recipe are decent.

Ingredients:

Yogurt dressing - 1 jar
Mustard - 2 tsp
Garlic - 2-5 cloves
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp

Preparation:

The yogurt dressing is poured into the bowl, chopped garlic (you can use a press), mustard, soy sauce and lemon juice are added to it. All you have to do is stir and the sauce is ready.

Vegetarian Caesar Salad Dressing

Quite often now there are fans of vegetarian cuisine, not only among vegetarians. Therefore, the recipe for this version of Worcestershire sauce for Caesar salad is suitable for everyone. This is also a similar variation to Caesar dressing itself.

Ingredients:

Balsamic vinegar – 2 tbsp.
Soy sauce – 2 tbsp.
Cane sugar – 2 tbsp.
Chopped Nori leaves – 4 tbsp.
Spices - ginger, cinnamon, salt, red pepper, curry, fennel, cardamom, cloves

Preparation:

Mix soy sauce and balsamic vinegar and put on fire. Add crushed spices. After boiling, add chopped Nori leaves. Mix everything and boil for 1 minute.