Believe it or not, the Caesar salad is not Italian but…, Mexican! However, the creator of this culinary wonder is originally from Italy and his creation of it is now a heritage of world gastronomy. As is often the case with most famous dishes, each country adds something to its creation.
We bring you one of the most famous salads in the world in its Caribbean version: Venezuelan Caesar salad. As refreshing as the tropics!
Ingredients to make Venezuelan Caesar Salad:
For the salad:
- 1 large Creole lettuce
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 cups croutons
- 4 boiled eggs cut small (optional)
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 cans of small anchovies
- 1 jet of oil (to brown the croutons)
For the vinaigrette:
- 5 tablespoons of olive oil
- 4 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 gram of salt
How to make Venezuelan Caesar Salad:
First of all, prepare the dressing for the Venezuelan Caesar salad. Mix 5 tablespoons of oil, 4 tablespoons of vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Preferably do it in a medium bowl and mix with a balloon rod, so the vinaigrette will emulsify faster. If you don’t have the balloon stick it doesn’t matter, you can use a fork or spoon, either way the end result will be the same.
Prepare the lettuce for the salad; first remove all the outer leaves that are dark, battered or dry. Do it by separating sheet by sheet. Then, wash the lettuce very well.
Tip: Lettuce must be washed very well because it can contain bacteria that are harmful to health.
Finely chop or crush the 3 cloves of garlic. Booking. As for the croutons, to stones, croutons or crouton, you have 3 options:
- Get them done.
- Get toast at the supermarket and cut it into squares.
- Make your own croutons. To do this, buy sandwich bread, cut into small pieces and toast. You can fry them in the pan or dry them in the oven. You choose whether natural or rubbed with garlic.
Place a saucepan with water to boil the eggs. Wait until the water reaches the boiling point, then lower the heat a little to maintain the point and add the eggs. Wait 10-12 minutes.
One trick to keep the shell from sticking is to submerge the egg in cold water. For this, prepare a container with cold water, some ice and let them rest there until they cool down. Later remove the shell, cut the boiled eggs into slices and reserve. Add a splash of oil in a pan and fry the minced garlic to continue with the Venezuelan Caesar salad recipe. Then, fry the croutons. In my case I browned them a little because I bought toast that I cut into squares. So I just fried them for flavor and more color. If you make homemade croutons with sandwich bread, toast until crispy. They will be delicious, just like the purchased ones.
Cut the washed lettuce, preferably with your hands, this way you prevent the leaves from oxidizing. The ideal size for the Venezuelan Caesar salad would be one bite. Add the cheese and stir carefully to avoid mistreating the lettuce. The best way would be with 2 salad utensils or two wooden spoons. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir gently. To taste! A wonderful recipe that goes around the world, adding details in each place. Here is the Caribbean version that preserves its essence but with a Venezuelan touch. This Venezuelan Caesar salad recipe is an excellent appetizer or accompaniment to main dishes, but it is also a perfect dinner for many. I invite you to taste this magnificent version of the traditional Caesar.
Tips for a perfect Venezuelan Caesar salad
One of the most important ingredients of the Venezuelan Caesar salad is the lettuce, which must be clean and crisp. To do this, we recommend placing the vegetable in a large bowl, pouring water and adding a dash of vinegar or 1/2 cup of iodized salt. Wait about 5 minutes and then rinse very well. Avoid exceeding the soaking time because otherwise the lettuce can soften and lose its texture.
Finally, drain the water very well and rinse the lettuce leaf by leaf, under the tap. As in the Venezuelan Caesar salad it is very important that the lettuce is crispy, I recommend the following:
- Add 1-2 ice trays to a large bowl.
- Pour water into the bowl, enough to cover the lettuce.
- Place the lettuce (washed or unwashed) in the container. Submerge the vegetable.
- Wait 15-20 minutes.
- Take the lettuce out of the water, let it rest inside a colander for a while and reserve.
