Turn Caesar Salad Into Sandwich
You don’t have to be a marketing expert to know that Caesar salad is the hottest thing between tongs. It has two essential qualities going for it: ease of preparation and flavor.
Even the most basic Caesar salad of romaine lettuce, croutons and bottled dressing tastes good. Do it from scratch, with good-quality Parmesan cheese, anchovies and extra-virgin olive oil, and it’s a feast.
One of the things you’ll note about Caesar salad is how versatile it is. You can make it more substantial by adding strips of grilled chicken or salmon or cooked shrimp, or make it lighter by skipping the traditional coddled egg.
You can even take the essential ingredients and replay them in a new form, as a Caesar Sandwich. It’s delicious and more filling than a salad.
To start, you must use a good-quality French bread; the crust should have the crunch of croutons. Caesar Salad Dressing replaces mayonnaise or another sandwich spread. Use enough to moisten the filling of lettuce, grilled chicken strips and slivers of Parmesan cheese.
When your salad days seem long gone, you can still enjoy a Caesar Sandwich.
Caesar Sandwich
Caesar Salad Dressing (recipe follows)
2 (3-inch-long) pieces French bread, cut on the diagonal
2 romaine lettuce leaves
2 small grilled or broiled chicken breast halves, cut into strips
4 large, thin slivers Parmesan cheese
Prepare dressing. Set aside while assembling sandwiches.
Place bread pieces on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees 5 minutes, or until crisp. Remove and split.
Place 1 romaine lettuce leaf on bottom of each sandwich. Top with half the chicken. Gently arrange 2 cheese slivers over chicken. Spoon half the dressing over each sandwich. Cover with top halves of bread.
Yield: 2 servings.
Note: If you like, hard-cook an egg, thinly slice and arrange over lettuce leaves before adding the chicken.
Caesar Salad Dressing
2-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 small garlic clove
3 anchovy fillets
Process oil, lemon juice, garlic and anchovies in small food processor until pureed. If doing by hand, combine oil and juice in bowl. Mince together garlic and anchovies. Add to oil and mash with back of spoon to form a paste.
Yield: About 1/4 cup.