Alex Guarnaschelli’s Eggless Caesar Salad
A classic Caesar salad is on many a salad lover’s menus. Food Network star Alex Guarnaschelli’s Caesar salad is faithful to the original but she omits the use of egg yolk from its briny and delicious dressing for good reason.
Guarnaschelli is a ‘fan of the classic’ salad – except for the egg yolk
In her cookbook Cook with Me, the chef writes of her love for the popular salad offering, found on countless restaurant menus. She explains her reasoning for leaving out one of the dressing’s most traditional ingredients: egg yolk.
“As far as Caesar dressing goes, I’m a fan of the classic made with one small adjustment – I don’t add the raw egg yolk because some people are uncomfortable with it and some people don’t like it when the eggy taste comes through,” she writes.
To replicate the body the yolk gives the dressing, Guarnaschelli says she instead relies on the Parmesan cheese and olive oil in the sauce.
The one ingredient Guarnaschelli won’t leave out
There is, however, one element of the dressing that the Chopped judge refuses to leave out no matter how anyone feels about it.
“I do find that the flavor of the anchovy–whether from the mashed anchovy or from the oil in the jar–is imperative because it adds that umami note, salty and rich, which is even more important in a dressing made without the egg yolk,” she continues.
If you don’t have any anchovies in your pantry, not to worry. Guarnaschelli says that you can substitute “the liquid from a can of oil-packed tuna instead (and crumble the tuna over the salad because why not).”
To make the dressing, blend first the Dijon mustard, large grated garlic cloves, and pepper. Then with the blender running, stream in the fresh lemon juice, caper brine, extra-virgin olive oil, and canola oil. Pour it into a bowl and stir in the finely chopped anchovies and anchovy oil. Serve over romaine lettuce with grated Parmesan cheese.
Get the complete recipe on Alex Guarnaschelli’s website, or in her cookbook, Cook with Me: 150 Recipes for the Home Cook.
Guarnaschelli sticks to romaine lettuce for this recipe, except when she doesn’t
In her cookbook, she adds that she usually favors romaine lettuce for her Caesar salad but also likes “Little Gem lettuce or sturdy non-hydroponically-grown Boston lettuce as backups.” The Alex vs. America star also explains that she discards the outer leaves on her romaine lettuce for this salad.
Clearly, Guarnaschelli doesn’t simply throw ingredients into a bowl. She thinks through her meal, the flavors, and even the aftertastes: “Please wait to toss [the dressing] with the romaine. … I peel away a layer or two of the greener outer leaves from the head of romaine because they overamplify the metallic anchovy notes in the dressing.”
Try the Iron Chef’s eggless Caesar Salad; it’s possible you won’t even miss the egg in the dressing!
