Caesar Salad with Parmesan Croutons

I try to make “healthy” things from time to time to keep the monster of gluttony inside me at bay. I usually make a salad as a starter for dinner, something simple like cherry tomatoes and arugula with balsamic and olive oil. But tonight I felt like splurging and making something I loved eating when I was young and still do: Caesar salad with crunchy croutons and bacon bits. It was the only salad I ate as a child. That creamy tangy dressing pretty much covered any vegetable taste (yay!) and there was bacon! I still remember my dad had this plastic container of bacon bits in the kitchen and we would sneak a handful like candy now and then.

Regardless of how delicious the salad is, it isn’t healthy to have Caesar dressing from a bottle and bacon when you are cooking at home and can make better choices. So I found a recipe online and tweaked it to make my own Caesar dressing. Much healthier and just as delicious! You can still have a whole bowl of this salad and not feel like you had a full meal. You can omit the Parmesan, but I think a little bit won’t hurt!

Recipe

Ingredients

Romaine lettuce, cut into 1-inch chunks

Croutons:

Bread, cut into small cubes (the recipe called for crusty bread, but I just used plain old white bread)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoon Parmesan, shredded

Dressing:

Olive oil

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Splash of Worcestershire sauce

1 small can of anchovies, chopped

½ clove of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt

Pepper

Parmesan, shaved

Method

1. For the croutons, heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the bread on low heat until golden and crispy. Add the Parmesan on top. When the cheese has melted, remove the bread and drain on kitchen towels.
2. For the dressing, blend the egg yolks, mustard, Worcestershire sauce. Then slowly drizzle in the oil, whisking constantly, until the sauce is of a mayonnaise consistency. Then mix in the anchovies, garlic and lemon. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Mix the dressing with the lettuce, and top with the croutons and more shaved Parmesan.