Sarina’s Spicy Caesar Salad (recipe)

spicycaesersalad-6888824

My last entry to Hay Hay it’s Donna Day went off so well that I’m not exactly sure why it’s taken me so long to submit another concoction. Oh well, this entry remedies that in a healthy veggie way.

This month the theme was Caesar Salad, something that I’ve heard a lot about, have even seen first hand, but never tried. Strange, considering that my own eating habits lean towards the vegetarian side of things. If I had to hazard a guess it probably would be because the name sounded so unappetizing to me. I always thought it had something to do with Julius Caesar, don’t ask me why! 😆

Fortunately my copy of The Good Home Cookbook: More Than 1000 Classic American Recipes set me straight!

From The Good Home Cookbook: More Than 1000 Classic American Recipes:
.
On July 4, 1924, a group of airmen from San Diego arrived hungry at a restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, owned by Caesar Cardini. There wasn’t much food to feed them, but somehow Caesar’s brother Alex managed to whip up a salad of eggs, romaine lettuce, Parmesan cheese, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and appper. Thus, the aviator salad was born, later renamed the Caesar salad. The salad became quite popular, especially with movie folks, and was voted “the greatest recipe to originate from the Americas in 50 years” by the International Society of Epicures in Paris.

Wasn’t that interesting? I love learning about the genesis of recipes 😀

Armed with my new knowledge and a recipe (or two 😛 ) I decided to prepare the following, my own take on the classic Caesar Salad. Enjoy! 🙂

Caesar Salad
——————————————————————————–

Recipe By: TriniGourmet.com
Serving Size: 6

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lime
3 to 4 anchovy fillets
1 clove, garlic halved
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon hot sauce
pinch of black pepper
1 head lettuce
1 cup store-bought or homemade garlic croutons
1/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. In a large salad bowl, mince the anchovies using the back of a fork.
2. Add the oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper sauce, and pepper
3. Cover the bowl, and let stand for about 1 hour
4. Discard the garlic
5. Mix the dressing again.
6. Tear the lettuce into bite-size pieces and add to the dressing.
7. Add the croutons and cheese and toss well