Best New York Times Caesar Salad Dressing Recipes

VEGAN CAESAR SALAD WITH CRISP CHICKPEAS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees. On a medium baking sheet, toss the bread with 2 tablespoons olive oil; season generously with salt and pepper. On a second baking sheet, toss the chickpeas with remaining 2 tablespoons oil; season generously with salt and pepper. Bake both until chickpeas and croutons are browned and crisp, stirring both halfway through, about 10 minutes for the croutons and 20 minutes for the chickpeas. Set aside.
• While the chickpeas and croutons roast, prepare your dressing: To a high-speed blender, add all the dressing ingredients, plus 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 3/4 cup water; blend until completely smooth, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula every now and again. Set dressing aside. (You should have 1 1/2 cups).
• In a large bowl, add the kale and the dressing. Using your hands, massage the kale until slightly softened. Add the lettuce, croutons and half the roasted chickpeas; toss to coat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with additional nutritional yeast. Top with remaining roasted chickpeas; grind black pepper over, and serve immediately.

CAESAR SALAD

Steps:

• Make the torn croutons: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove the crusts from the bread, then cut into inch-thick slices. Cut each slice into inch-wide strips, and tear each strip into inch-size pieces. Toss with olive oil to coat them evenly, then spread pieces out in a single layer on a baking sheet. (Use a second sheet if needed to prevent crowding.) Toast for 18 to 22 minutes, checking them after 8 minutes. Rotate pans, switch their oven positions and use a metal spatula to turn the croutons so they brown evenly. Bake until they're golden brown and crunchy on the outside, with just a tiny bit of chew on the inside. Season with a light sprinkling of salt if needed. Use immediately; store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
• Meanwhile, make mayonnaise: Place the egg yolk in a deep, medium metal or ceramic bowl. Dampen a tea towel and roll it up into a long log, then form it into a ring on the counter. Place the bowl inside the ring; this will hold the bowl in place while you whisk. (And if whisking by hand is simply out of the question, use a blender, stand mixer or food processor.)
• Use a ladle or bottle with a nozzle to drip in the neutral oil a drop at a time, while whisking the oil into the yolk. Go. Really. Slowly. And don't stop whisking. Once you've added about half the oil, you can start adding a little more oil at once. You want the mayonnaise to be stiff, but if it thickens so much that it's impossible to whisk, add a teaspoon or so of lemon juice to help thin it out.
• Prepare the dressing: Coarsely chop the anchovies and then pound them into a fine paste using a mortar and pestle. The more you break them down, the better the dressing will be.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the anchovies, mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, Parmesan, Worcestershire and pepper. Taste with a leaf of lettuce, then add salt and adjust the acid (the lemon juice and vinegar) as needed, or add a little of each salty ingredient (Worcestershire, anchovies, Parmesan) to the dressing, bit by bit. Adjust the acid, then taste and adjust the salty ingredients until you reach the ideal balance of salt, fat and acid.
• Use your hands to toss the greens and torn croutons with an abundant amount of dressing in a large bowl to coat evenly. Garnish with Parmesan and black pepper and serve immediately. Refrigerate leftover dressing, covered, for up to 3 days.

CLASSIC CAESAR SALAD

Steps:

• Put 2 tablespoons of the oil in a skillet large enough to hold the bread in a single layer and turn heat to medium. When oil shimmers, add bread and sprinkle with salt and pepper; brown lightly on all sides, adding a little more oil if necessary. Remove and set aside.
• Rub the inside of a salad bowl with the garlic clove; discard it. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Pierce a tiny hole in the broad end of each egg with a pin or needle and boil them for 60 to 90 seconds; they will just begin to firm up. Crack them into the salad bowl, being sure to scoop out the white that clings to the shell.
• Beat eggs with a fork. Gradually add lemon juice and 6 tablespoons oil, beating all the while. Stir in anchovies and Worcestershire. Taste and add salt if needed, and lots of pepper. Toss well with lettuce; top with Parmesan and croutons; toss again at table. Serve immediately.