HAIL CAESAR
Crunchy brussels sprouts boost nutrient value in classic salad
If you love brussels sprouts as I do, you will love this salad. If you aren’t sure, but you are a fan of caesar salad, then you will hopefully love it, too.
I’ve switched chopped brussels sprouts for the romaine lettuce in a classic caesar salad and subbed toasted breadcrumbs for the classic croutons. This way, every bite has the crunchy buttery flavour of a crouton which eliminates rooting around in your bowl for one.
The smaller the pieces the better because raw brussels sprouts are a little tough and dense.
This isn’t the prettiest salad but the flavour is all there and it is a great way to up the nutrient value of a caesar salad. Because this salad has essentially only three ingredients, it is important to use the best quality ingredients you can find, and make the dressing from scratch.
To make it as easy as possible, I’ve switched out the traditional method of whisking and mincing to make the dressing in a blender. That way, it is as easy as making a smoothie.
You put all the dressing ingredients in the blender — I use a smoothie cup — and blend away. In about 30 seconds, you have a perfectly emulsified creamy homemade caesar dressing.
I like to use whole anchovies that are packed in a tin of oil, but if you are a little squeamish, you could use anchovy paste, too.
Don’t be tempted to omit the anchovies; they make all the difference in the world. Once the dressing is blended, you won’t even know that they are there, but their contribution to the flavour of the dressing is huge.
The other important part of the dressing is the egg. A friend of mine who considers himself a so-called caesar salad king told me that in his opinion caesar salad dressing isn’t really caesar salad dressing without the egg to give it richness. I concurred and call for a coddled egg (a gently and barely cooked one) instead of a raw egg in this recipe.
If you have never coddled an egg before, don’t worry. It’s beyond easy. All you do is boil a small pot of water, place an egg on a spoon like you are dyeing Easter eggs, and hold the egg in the water for 40-60 seconds.
Immediately, you plunge it into a cold water bath to stop the cooking and you have a coddled egg that is perfect for making dressing.
The short amount of cooking time in boiling water is said to kill any bacteria from the raw egg and it is safer to make the dressing with a coddled egg than a raw one.