Table-side Caesar Salad with Chili Oil Croutons

chopped romaine lettuce served with cubed croutons and a light caesar dressing in a wood salad bowl

Table-side Caesar Salad with Chili Oil Croutons

This variation of Caesar salad comes together right in the bowl. Rather than dumping a creamy and heavy (albeit delicious) dressing on the romaine, in this recipe the garlic is mashed together with the anchovies and olive oil, then tossed with the romaine, lemon juice, egg yolk and Parmesan cheese.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword anchovy, caesar, crouton, dressing, garlic, lemon, romaine, salad, salad dressing

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Servings

Calories 1010kcal

Ingredients

For the chili oil croutons:

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
4 cups ½” cubed day old French bread
Kosher salt, as needed
Freshly ground black pepper, as needed

For the tableside Caesar salad:

1 clove garlic smashed
4 oil-packed anchovies, or 1 tablespoon anchovy paste
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 romaine hearts, leaves torn or roughly chopped
½ lemon
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature (optional)
⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

For the chili oil croutons:

Add the olive oil and crushed red pepper flakes to a small saucepan over medium-low heat, and simmer, stirring frequently, until the oil becomes fragrant, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Strain the oil into a small bowl, discarding the red pepper flakes.
Heat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Toss the cubed bread with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread in an even single layer on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until the croutons are crispy and golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Set aside and let cool. Croutons can be kept in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

For the tableside Caesar salad:

In a large wooden salad bowl use the prongs of a fork of the back of a spoon to mash together the garlic clove with the anchovies and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until it comes together and is almost completely combined. Add the remaining olive oil and continue to mash together.
Add the romaine and toss to coat in the dressing. Squeeze the lemon over the top (be sure no seeds get in) and season to taste with salt and pepper, tossing to combine.
If adding, add the egg yolk over the top and toss the romaine to coat and emulsify the dressing.
Toss with half of the Parmesan and top with the remaining cheese and croutons. Serve in salad bowls immediately.

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