Anchovy-less Caesar Dressing
Spoiler alert: miso makes it great.
By Erin Henderson
I realize this post is terribly unfashionable: everyone who is anyone absolutely adores anchovy.
Where there used to be bragging rights about spice tolerance, there is now braggadocio over who can handle the oiliest, stinkiest fish.
Alas, I am among the hopelessly out-of-vogue naysayers of anchovy. I can handle a wink of it, but I find most people, chefs included, use far too heavy a hand. Of course, that might have something to do with my highly tuned sommelier’s palate (hey – I have to redeem myself somewhere.)
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Yes, there are those who will tirelessly argue umami – that je n’est sais quoi ingredient that adds a depth and dimension to food. But you can easily find umami elsewhere – parmesan, soy sauce, mushrooms – and my secret ingredient to just about anything, miso.
Anchovy-less Caesar Salad Dressing
Even if you are an anchovy addict, occasionally you may find yourself hosting someone with an allergy or aversion, and you will want to be hospitable. Instead of making something else entirely, this is a very good Caesar salad dressing. With loads of Parmesan and tempered garlic, along with a healthy hit of white miso, this is a bloody good dressing.
Makes: 1 ½ cups
Chef level: easy
Special equipment: blender or food processor
Ingredients:
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1 Tbsp white miso
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- 1 large egg yolk (alternatively: 1 heaping tablespoon mayo)
- 1 Tbsp sherry vinegar (alternatively: red wine vinegar)
- 1 Tbsp simple syrup (alternatively: white sugar)
- 1 Tbsp water
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
How to Make It:
- In a small bowl, place the garlic cloves and cover with lemon juice (about 2 Tablespoons). Set aside to marinate for 15 minutes while you gather the rest of your ingredients. (This will help calm some of the sharp bite of the raw garlic and also flavour the lemon juice.)
- Into a food processor or blender, add 1 Tbsp of the garlic-flavoured lemon juice, one clove of garlic (you can discard the remining two), the miso, a pinch of salt, lots of black pepper. Blitz for 5 seconds to combine.
- To this, add the egg yolk (or mayo), vinegar, sugar, water, and lemon zest, and blitz again until smooth, about 10 seconds.
- With the machine running, slowly pour in the olive oil in a very thin stream, running the blades until completely emulsified.
- Taste and adjust salt and lemon, if necessary.
- If the dressing is too thick, add in water, one Tablespoon at a time, until desire consistency is reached.
Kitchen Note:
Now that we have gone totally rogue by ixnaying anchovies, and possible even offended some in the processes, let’s disregard all sense of propriety with a substitute for bacon.
Before you go completely apoplectic, rest assured I am a fan of a quality lardon liaising amongst the greens, but for a spicy spin consider crisping up slices of salami to decorate your Caesar. Just lay the salami flat on a baking sheet and bake at 400°F for about 7 minutes, or until the fat has rendered and they’re stiff and crunchy.
