Serves 4 to 6
There are now many versions of this famous salad being prepared all over the world. Quite a few are very good, but this recipe, according to reliable sources, is very much like the original Caesar salad—and, of course, that must be the best.
• 6 oz. French bread (about 15 to 18 slices from a thin baguette)
• 4 Tbs. olive oil for frying
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 eggs
• 3 large heads of fresh, crisp romaine lettuce
• ¾ to 1 cup fruity olive oil, to taste
• juice of 2 large lemons (about ⅓ cup)
• salt to taste
• fresh-ground black pepper to taste
• dash of Worcestershire sauce, or more to taste
• ½ cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese
1. Slice the bread and cut each slice in half or in thirds. Dry the bread out in a medium-hot oven for about 20 minutes. Heat the 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan and add the garlic to it. Toss the dried bread in the olive oil over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside.
2. Boil 2 eggs for exactly 1 minute, run cool water over them for an instant, and put them aside.
3. Remove the large outer leaves from the heads of romaine and save them for some other salad. Take apart the hearts, wash the leaves, and dry them on tea towels. Chill the romaine leaves.
4. To prepare the salad at the table, assemble all the ingredients in attractive bowls on a tray. Put the romaine leaves in the largest salad bowl you have. If you want to keep the leaves whole (as in the original), arrange them all in one direction so that you can roll them over and over each other without breaking them. Have two large wooden spoons ready for this operation.
5. Pour about ½ the fruity olive oil over the lettuce and toss or lift from one side, rolling the leaves over to the other side several times. Break the eggs over the lettuce and flip all the lettuce over several times more. Continue in this fashion, adding some more olive oil, then the lemon juice, then some salt and fresh-ground black pepper, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, and the Parmesan cheese, tossing or rolling over the leaves between each addition. Finally, add the croutons and toss again. Taste one of the smaller leaves. Correct the seasoning with a little more oil, salt, pepper, or Worcestershire sauce, if needed.
6. Serve immediately.
