Caesar Salad French Laundry

⏱ 240 mins 🍽 12 salads, 12 serving(s) 🏷 < 4 Hours

This elegant starter reimagines Caesar salad as a composed dish. It features delicate parmesan custards set on toasted baguette slices, crowned with a crisp parmesan wafer and a stack of dressed romaine. Two accompaniments-a creamy anchovy dressing and a reduced balsamic glaze-complete each plate. The recipe involves several components, including a slow-reduced vinegar glaze, baked cheese crisps, and a infused custard, most of which can be prepared in advance for easy assembly.

Caesar Salad French Laundry

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped garlic
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped shallots
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 2 salt-packed anchovy fillets, deboned and soaked in milk,rinsed and drained (I used anchovy paste in the tube)
  • 1 large egg yolk (I omitted and it emulsified wonderfully)
  • 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup canola oil
  • white pepper
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 3 1/2 ounces parmigiano-reggiano cheese, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • kosher salt
  • white pepper
  • 3 cups chiffonade romaine lettuce (long narrow strips, cut from the heart or small inner leaves)
  • 2 tablespoons freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
  • fresh ground black pepper
  • 12 croutons, from a baguette about 1/4 inches thick,toasted lightly
  • parmigiano-reggiano cheese, shavings for garnish (made with a vegetable peeler--should be VERY thin)
  • 2 cups balsamic vinegar

Method

  1. Warm the vinegar in a heavy pan until steam appears.
  2. Transfer the pan to a heat diffuser and allow the liquid to reduce very slowly without simmering for 2 or 3 hours until it becomes a syrupy glaze.
  3. You should end up with roughly 1/2 cup of glaze.
  4. Transfer the finished glaze to a squeeze bottle for storage.
  5. If the glaze thickens too much, warm the bottle in hot water to thin it.
  6. For the crisps, preheat your oven to 325F.
  7. Line a baking tray with a Silpat liner or easy release foil.
  8. Sprinkle approximately 2 teaspoons of the finely grated cheese into one corner of the tray.
  9. Use your fingers to shape the cheese into a 2 inch circle, repeating to form 12 rounds in total.
  10. Bake the rounds for 8- 10 minutes until they turn golden brown.
  11. Carefully transfer the baked crisps to paper towels using a small spatula.
  12. They are fragile but any broken pieces can still be used.
  13. The crisps will be soft when hot but firm up as they cool.
  14. Keep them in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
  15. To make the dressing, blend the garlic, shallots, vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, and anchovies until completely smooth.
  16. Move this mixture to a mixer fitted with a paddle and beat in the egg yolk.
  17. While the machine is running, slowly pour in the olive and canola oils in a steady stream.
  18. Add white pepper to season.
  19. Cover the dressing and place it in the refrigerator.
  20. You will have more dressing than required. the remainder keeps for 3 days when chilled.
  21. For the custards, combine the cream, milk and parmesan pieces in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
  22. Remove from the heat, cover the pan, and let it infuse for 45 minutes.
  23. Heat your oven to 300°F.
  24. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole eggs and the extra yolk.
  25. Reheat the cream mixture until it is hot.
  26. Gradually strain the hot cream mixture into the eggs while whisking constantly to temper them.
  27. Season the custard base with salt and white pepper.
  28. Ladle 2 tablespoons of the mixture into each of your 2 ounce molds.
  29. Place the filled molds into a roasting pan and pour in hot water until it reaches halfway up their sides.
  30. If using foil cups that float, place a baking sheet on top to weigh them down.
  31. Cover the entire roasting pan with aluminium foil and bake for 30 minutes or until the custards are just set.
  32. The edges will be firm but the very centres might still be slightly soft.
  33. Take the molds out of the water bath and chill the custards for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.
  34. To assemble, toss the romaine chiffonade with the grated parmesan and just enough dressing to coat it lightly.
  35. Add fresh ground black pepper to taste.
  36. Spoon a small pool of the dressing onto each serving plate.
  37. Run a knife around each chilled custard, briefly dip its mold in hot water, and turn it out onto a crouton.
  38. Position one custard-topped crouton in the centre of each dressing pool.
  39. Place a parmesan crisp over each custard, then top with a stack of the dressed romaine.
  40. Finish each plate with shavings of parmesan and a decorative ring or pool of the balsamic glaze.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sodium221300 mg

Recipe details

Category< 4 Hours
Authorarriba