Caesar Dressing
More than just a perfect partner for crisp Romaine lettuce, try this Caesar dressing on steamed green beans, roasted mushrooms, or as a mayonnaise substitute when making potato salad.
When time allows, I prefer making my own salad dressing. The flavor is far superior to bottled. I also use less oil, which means fewer calories.
After testing today’s Caesar dressing a few times, I learned a couple of important things. A few key ingredients are an absolute must, and the order in which the ingredients are combined matters.
Key ingredient #1 – egg yolk. Caesar dressing recipes often call for raw egg yolks. From a food-safety perspective, raw eggs may contain salmonella, bacteria that can cause food poisoning. Shell eggs that have been pasteurized (heat treated to kill bacteria without cooking the egg) are an option, but likely difficult to find at many grocery stores. The perfect, safe solution was using a hard-boiled egg yolk in this recipe.
For the smoothest incorporation of the yolk, use a warm, just-cooked yolk. Adding the cooked egg yolk is an extra step, but I tested this recipe without the yolk and it just wasn’t as good.
Key ingredient #2 – low-fat buttermilk. I tried this recipe using 1% milk and it was too thin and runny. The buttermilk provided a nice consistency and added a creamy richness.
Key ingredient #3 – red wine vinegar. Many Caesar dressing recipes only call for lemon juice as the acidic ingredient. I found the depth of flavor was much better when I added red wine vinegar to the mix. Fresh-squeezed lemon juice adds a tart, clean, bright flavor and the red wine vinegar supplies a vibrant punch and pairs really well with the Parmesan cheese in the dressing.
Key ingredient #4 – anchovies. I’ll put a qualifier on this ingredient and say, in my house, this is a key ingredient. For convenience, I like using anchovy paste. If you’d prefer to use canned anchovies, one anchovy fillet equals a 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste.
Now for combining the ingredients. It seems a bit finnicky, but there’s a reason for my mixing method. For the first test of this recipe, I tossed all the ingredients in a blender and held down the blend button until it was well mixed. The result was a frothy, runny dressing with tiny clumps of egg yolk – absolutely unacceptable.
The method that worked best was placing the sour cream, olive oil and warm, cooked egg yolk in a blender or food processor and mixing to the consistency of a silky, smooth mayonnaise. Place the sour cream mixture in a bowl, add the remaining ingredients and hand whisk until combined. Refrigerate and use within 2 to 5 days.
To your health,
Darlene
CAESAR DRESSING
Yield: 10 servings
Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
Prep: 10 minutes
Ready: 15 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large hard-boiled egg yolk
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste or 1 anchovy fillet
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS
Place sour cream, oil, and hard-boiled egg yolk in a blender container or food processor bowl. Cover and blend or process until mixture is smooth, stopping to scrap down sides as needed.
Remove sour cream mixture from blender or food processor, place in a bowl and add buttermilk, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, garlic, anchovy paste, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese. Whisk until combined. Refrigerate and use within 2 to 5 days.
Cook’s Note: For the smoothest consistency, use an egg yolk that has just been hard boiled and still warm.
Nutrition Information per Serving
67 Calories, 6 g Total fat, 2 g Saturated fat, 0 g Trans fat, 26 mg Cholesterol, 193 mg Sodium, 2 g Total carbohydrate, 0 g Dietary fiber, 2 g Total sugars, 0 g Added sugars, 2 g Protein, 0 mcg (0%) Vitamin D, 52 mg (4%) Calcium, 0 mg (0%) Iron, 30 mg (0%) Potassium
© 2022 RECIPES MADE HEALTHY BY DARLENE ZIMMERMAN, MS, RD LLC
