Bern's Tableside Caesar Salad
Chapter 1: Starters & Salads
The fork scrapes. At legendary institutions like Bern's in Tampa, the captain mashes two oil-packed anchovies into a gritty paste, whisking oil into a raw yolk to form an aggressive emulsion built from scratch in a wooden bowl. Serve the salad immediately, before the croutons lose their shatter and the emulsion forgets it was born in that bowl; do not fear the anchovy, and do not skimp on the cheese.
Before you start
Dry the greens obsessively.
Any residual water will repel the oil-based dressing and break the emulsion. Wash the Romaine in ice water to shock it, then spin it in a salad spinner until absolutely bone-dry.
Ingredients
- French baguette2 cup
- extra-virgin olive oil3 tbsp
- garlic clove1 small
- kosher salt1/4 tsp
- black pepper1/4 tsp
- Romaine hearts2 large
- raw garlic clove1 large
- oil-packed anchovy fillets4 med
- pasteurized egg yolk1 large
- Dijon mustard1 tsp
- fresh lemon juice2 tbsp
- Worcestershire sauce1/2 tsp
- Tabasco sauce1/8 tsp
- extra-virgin and neutral oil blend1/3 cup
- Parmigiano-Reggiano1/2 cup
Method
- 01
Toast the croutons.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk the 3 tablespoons of olive oil and garlic paste together, toss with the torn baguette, season with salt and pepper, and bake for 10 to 14 minutes until shattering crisp.
- 02
Season the wooden bowl.
Forcefully rub the cut halves of the raw garlic clove all over the interior walls of a large, seasoned wooden salad bowl to extract the pungent oils into the wood.
- 03
Grind the umami paste.
Drop the remaining garlic, anchovies, and a hefty pinch of coarse salt into the bowl, mercilessly mashing with two forks until it forms a smooth, muddy paste.
- 04
Build the liquid base.
Whisk the egg yolk and Dijon mustard into the anchovy paste until cohesive, then incorporate the fresh lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco.
- 05
Emulsify the dressing.
Whisking constantly, pour the olive oil blend into the bowl in a painfully slow, hair-thin drizzle until the liquid transforms into a thick, glossy cream.
- 06
Incorporate the cheese.
Fold in the freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and season aggressively with freshly cracked black pepper.
- 07
Toss and serve immediately.
Add the ice-cold, bone-dry Romaine and warm croutons to the bowl, gently folding with two large spoons until every leaf is slicked with dressing, then plate and garnish with additional cheese.
Notes
Coddle unpasteurized eggs.
If you cannot source pasteurized eggs in-shell, boil a whole egg for exactly 60 seconds before separating the yolk to ensure safety without compromising the dressing's luxurious texture.
Use a 50/50 oil blend.
High-speed whisking of pure extra-virgin olive oil can sometimes release bitter polyphenols. Cutting it with a neutral oil like grapeseed ensures a flawless mouthfeel.