Brussels sprouts push nutrition in a classic Caesar salad
If you love Brussels sprouts like I do, you will love this salad. If you aren't sure, but you are a fan of Caesar salad, then you will hopefully love it too!
I've switched out chopped Brussels sprouts for the romaine lettuce in a classic Caesar salad and subbed toasted bread crumbs for the classic croutons. This way, every bite has the crunchy buttery flavor of a crouton which eliminates rooting around in your bowl for one.
If you prefer to shred or slice your Brussels sprouts, that will work as well but I find the smaller the piece the better because raw Brussels sprouts are a little tough and dense. This isn't the prettiest salad but the flavor is all there and it is a great way to up the nutrient value of a Caesar salad.
Because this salad has essentially only three ingredients, it is important to use the best quality ingredients you can find, and make the dressing from scratch. To make it as easy as possible, I've switched out the traditional method of whisking and mincing to make the dressing in a blender. That way, it is as easy as making a smoothie. You put all the dressing ingredients in the blender — I use a smoothie cup — and blend away. In about 30 seconds, you have a perfectly emulsified creamy homemade Caesar dressing!
I like to use whole anchovies that are packed in a tin of oil, but if you are a little squeamish, you could use anchovy paste too. Don't be tempted to omit the anchovies, they make all the difference in the world. Once the dressing is blended, you won't even know that they are there, but their contribution to the flavor of the dressing is huge.
The other important part of the dressing is the egg. A friend of mine who considers himself a so-called Caesar salad king told me that in his opinion Caesar salad dressing isn't really Caesar salad dressing without the egg to give it richness. I concurred and call for a coddled egg (a gently and barely cooked one) instead of a raw egg in this recipe.
If you have never coddled an egg before, don't worry. It's beyond easy. All you do is boil a small pot of water, place an egg on a spoon like you are dying Easter eggs, and hold the egg in the water for 40-60 seconds. Immediately following, you plunge it into a cold water bath to stop the cooking and you have a coddled egg that is perfect for making Caesar salad dressing. The short amount of cooking time in boiling water is said to kill the any bacteria from the raw egg and it is safer to make the dressing with a coddled egg instead of a raw one.
• Elizabeth Karmel is a barbecue and Southern foods expert. She is the chef and pitmaster at online retailer CarolinaCueToGo.com and the author of three books, including “Taming the Flame.”