Salads
Caesar salad
Crisp lettuce tossed with piquant capers and anchovies in a punchy dressing and topped with grated Parmesan. The poached egg is optional, but turns a side into a complete meal. For more substance add croutons: cut some sourdough into cubes, toss with olive oil and seasoning and bake for 15 minutes at 200°C/Gas 6, until golden.
Ingredients
for the dressing
- 1 egg
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 4 anchovies
- 1 tsp capers
- 80ml sunflower oil
- pinch of sugar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 50g Parmesan, grated
- salt and pepper
for the salad
- 2- 4 little gems, depending on size
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbsp Parmesan, grated
- 1 tbsp spring onion, chopped
Method
To make the dressing
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Step 1
cook the whole egg in boiling water for 2 minutes, drain, peel quickly and place in the food processor with the lemon juice, garlic, anchovies and capers. Blitz until an emulsion is formed. Slowly start adding the oil in a steady stream to make mayonnaise and add the rest of the ingredients. Check the seasoning.
For the salad
-
Step 1
remove the leaves from little gems, wash and dry well. Boil some water in a shallow pan, add a dash of vinegar and break in 4 eggs. Simmer for 1 minute, cover, then remove from the heat and set aside for 4 minutes.
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Step 2
Toss the leaves in the Caesar dressing until well coated, divide between 4 plates and arrange. Top each plate with a poached egg then sprinkle with Parmesan and spring onions.
