Why This Recipe Works

There are precious few salads as popular as the classic Caesar, and when you have a good one, it’s easy to see why. To create a recipe for a Caesar salad that could truly live up to the hype, we threw it back to the classic method, slowly whisking extra-virgin olive oil into a pungent mix of egg yolk, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, minced anchovies, and Worcestershire sauce to create a luscious, creamy dressing. For the perfect buttery, crisp garlic-flavored croutons, we cut ciabatta bread into 1/2-inch cubes and tossed them in garlic oil before baking them until crisp and golden. To infuse the entire salad with savory Parmesan cheese, we stirred finely grated Parmesan into the dressing and tossed coarsely shredded Parmesan into the salad. When it all came together with the crunchy, lightly sweet romaine lettuce, we remembered why everyone knows the name Caesar.

Before You Begin

Use a rasp-style grater or the fine holes of a box grater to grate the Parmesan. To shred it, use the large holes of a box grater. The size of the lettuce is important here. To cut the lettuce into 1-inch pieces, first cut off the core and then cut each romaine heart in half lengthwise. Cut the halves in half lengthwise. Finally, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces. This recipe contains raw or undercooked eggs, which comes with inherent risks. To learn more about food safety, check out this guide.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Stir ¼ cup oil, half of garlic, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼teaspoon pepper together in large bowl. Add bread and toss to combine. Transfer bread to rimmed baking sheet and bake until light golden, about 18 minutes, stirring halfway through baking. Let cool completely. Wipe bowl clean with paper towels.

Form damp dish towel into ring shape on counter. Set now-empty bowl on towel to stabilize. Whisk egg yolk, lemon juice, Worcestershire, mustard, anchovies, ¼teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and remaining garlic together in bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in remaining ½ cup oil until emulsified. Whisk in grated Parmesan.

Add lettuce, croutons, and shredded Parmesan to bowl with dressing and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, garnished with extra anchovies, if using.