Best Mortons Caesar Salad Recipes

CAESAR SALAD

Caesar Salad image

Pick the youngest, crunchiest romaine heads you can find. Keep them crisp, before and after cleaning, in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator. Even if you pick young, crispy lettuce, you should use only the pale-green and yellow inner leaves for this salad. But don't throw out the outer leaves. Shred them and stir them into soups, or into a panful of sautéed fresh peas. The dressing shouldn't be too dense; it should be just thick enough to coat each leaf lightly. The cheese that is added at the end will thicken it a little. Oil and vinegar stirred in at the end is a little touch of mine. It's how we serve the salad at Lidia's Kansas City and Pittsburgh. Another little touch that looks nice on a plate is to set one or two whole romaine leaves on the plate and pile the cut leaves over it. Shaving Parmigiano-Reggiano over the finished salad looks nice and tastes nice, too. It's a good thing to keep in mind for other salads as well. Traditionally, Caesar salad was made with a barely cooked egg. Here I use a hard-boiled egg, as I do in my restaurants, for safety reasons.

Yield makes 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 13

Ingredients

2 cups cubed (1/2-inch) firm-textured white bread
3 young, firm heads romaine lettuce, or one 18-ounce package hearts of romaine
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar, plus more for dressing the salad
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 cloves garlic
4 anchovy fillets
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, or as needed
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 hard-boiled egg yolk (page 17)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus a block of Parmigiano-Reggiano for shaving

Steps:

Heat the oven to 350° F. Spread the bread cubes out on a baking sheet and bake, tossing them once or twice so they cook evenly, until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Remove and cool. (The croutons may be prepared up to a day in advance. If necessary, recrisp them in a 350° F oven for a few minutes.)
If using whole heads of romaine lettuce, remove the darker outer leaves to expose the pale-green center. Reserve the outer leaves for another use, if you like. Cut out the core and separate the hearts of romaine into individual leaves. Wash the leaves in a sink of cool water and drain them well, preferably in a salad spinner. Place the leaves in a large bowl, cover them loosely with damp paper towels, and store in the refrigerator up to 8 hours.
Combine 2 tablespoons vinegar, the lemon juice, garlic, and anchovies in a blender or the work bowl of a food processor. Blend until smooth, adding some of the 1/3 cup olive oil if there isn't enough liquid to move the mixture around the blender jar. Add the mustard, hard-boiled egg yolk, salt, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and remaining olive oil if any. Blend until smooth and creamy. Taste the dressing; if it's a little too tangy, pour in a splash or two of olive oil and blend until it's incorporated.
Stack the leaves in a large, preferably wooden serving bowl. Bring the bowl to the table and, using a salad fork and spoon, cut the leaves into 1-inch pieces, as used to be done tableside at Italian-American restaurants. (Of course, you can cut the leaves with a knife beforehand.) Pour the dressing over the salad, add a splash of vinegar and a healthy splash of olive oil, and toss until all the leaves are coated with dressing. Toss in the croutons and ground black pepper to taste. Lastly (so it doesn't clump), sprinkle the grated cheese over the salad, tossing as you add. Serve on chilled plates and, with a vegetable peeler, shave some of the block of Parmigiano-Reggiano over each serving.

MORTON'S THE STEAKHOUSE CHOPPED SALAD

Morton's the Steakhouse Chopped Salad image

Full name: Morton's the Steakhouse Chopped Salad With Hearts of Palm, Artichoke Hearts, & Blue Cheese. Found this on another website courtesy of Morton's Steakhouse, and it sounds absolutely yummy! Posting to try later and hoping I won't be disappointed.

Provided by Cook4_6

Categories Salad Dressings

Time 40m

Yield 6-8 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 14

Ingredients

1 medium head iceberg lettuce, washed and dried
1 medium head romaine lettuce, washed and dried
10 -12 frozen artichoke hearts (in brine, not marinated, about 12 ounces drained) or 10 -12 canned artichoke hearts (in brine, not marinated, about 12 ounces drained)
1 cup hearts of palm (about 12 ounces drained)
1 avocado
6 ounces blue cheese, such as Saga, Maytag (1 cup) or 6 ounces gorgonzola, crumbled (1 cup)
12 -14 slices cooked bacon, slices (crumbled, crisp-cooked bacon strips or equivalent amount of crisp real-bacon bits)
3/4 cup chopped hard-cooked egg (2 large eggs, see Note)
3/4 cup finely minced red onion
3/4 cup seeded chopped plum tomato
2/3 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
3 1/2 tablespoons Italian salad dressing mix, such as Good Seasons (see Note)
1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Steps:

To prepare vinaigrette: In a medium mixing bowl, combine the vinegar and 1/3 cup cup of water.
Whisk the mustard and salad dressing mix until well mixed.
Add the olive oil and whisk until the dressing is emulsified.
Let the dressing rest for a few minutes before using so that the flavors can blend. Refrigerate in a tightly-lidded glass or rigid plastic container for up to 7 days and whisk before using.
Note: If you use Good Seasons brand mix, two packets work well.
To prepare salad: Cut the iceberg and romaine lettuces into ½-inch squares. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Cut the artichoke hearts into eighths and the hearts of palm into 1/4-inch-long pieces and add to the lettuce.
Peel the avocado and remove the pit. Cut the avocado into ½-inch cubes and add to the lettuce.
Crumble the blue cheese over the salad. Sprinkle the bacon bits, chopped egg, onion, and tomato over the salad.
Add the vinaigrette, toss well, and serve.
Note: To hard-cook eggs, put them in a saucepan with cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, remove from the heat, and set aside for 15 minutes, during which time the eggs will harden. This is a better method than cooking the eggs in boiling water. There is less chance of the eggs cracking.