This is what I fondly refer to as a ‘dinner party salad’. When you’re having people over, the last thing you want is to have one thousand things to do last minute. You want impressive but easy. You want dishes that raise their hand and say “go on and make me ahead of time, I won’t try anything funny,” and still taste good the next day when you’re not in the mood to cook. Salads don’t usually fall into that category, but this one does.
You want impressive but easy. You want dishes that raise their hand and say “go on and make me ahead of time, I won’t try anything funny,” and still taste good the next day when you’re not in the mood to cook.
Brussels Sprouts are the key here to your low maintenance salad because they don’t get wilty and soggy and sad. They will last about a week in your fridge (although I doubt they make it that long) and hold up well to creamy dressings like this one.
Now keep in mind, this is not the healthy choice salad – but real Caesar salads never are and that’s okay. This is a rich, special occasion salad and if you just thought to yourself “yeah that’s not a thing,” then it’s a good thing you’re here because we’ve got a lot to discuss. This is one of those ‘balance’ things millennials keep talking about – you’re still eating this dressing on shredded vegetables so go ahead and pat yourself on the back.
I like toasty breadcrumbs here instead of croutons because the whole salad is a little slaw-ish and large pieces of bread kind of feel out of place to me. Plus, I will take any chance I get to add this crunchy smoked paprika situation to something (and here it works nicely). If you aren’t familiar with panko, they are Japanese breadcrumbs and you can find them in most grocery stores either with the Asian products or the other breadcrumbs. Seek them out, the airy, delicate crunch is well worth it. Make extra and store them in an airtight container in your pantry for a couple weeks and sprinkle them on whatever you want.
If you aren’t normally a ‘little fish’ person you may not be familiar with Boquerones*, marinated white anchovies. They are super mild and fresh in comparison to the oil-packed brown anchovies most people are familiar with. If you are even kind of willing, I strongly encourage you to try them. Once you have them, you’ll want to put them on every cracker, pasta and fancy toast you eat.
Look, you’ve probably already eaten anchovies when you ordered some Caesar at some restaurant. I use anchovy paste here because sometimes it’s more convenient than opening a full tin. If you have a bottled Caesar dressing, you can just use that instead. It won’t be as good as my dressing, but I get it.
If you don’t have some appliance to slice the sprouts for you it’s going to be a little tedious (but worth it!). I have a massive food processor with an adjustable slicer attachment and we’re in love. What we have is special and real. If you don’t have one (like normal people), you can CAREFULLY use a mandoline or slice them thinly by hand. Some grocery stores sell pre-shredded Brussels Sprouts and that’s totally cool as long as they are sliced thinly enough (I find sometimes stores don’t execute this very well). You’re aiming for something around 1/16 inch thick, which is basically how thin you can slice them before the pieces start disintegrating. The thinner they’re sliced, the more volume you’re gonna get so just keep that in mind. If they’re thicker, you may want to add more sprouts or use less dressing. Some chopped kale wouldn’t be out of place here, either.
*You can find Boquerones at Whole Foods, Italian specialty shops and if you’re in Houston they stock them at Central Market, the downtown Specs and Phoenicia
| Prep Time | 10-30 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 4 ts anchovy paste
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese microplaned or finely grated
- 2 T Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 2 T lemon juice
- 2 ts Dijon mustard
- 1 ts Worcestershire sauce
- 5 dashes hot sauce
- 1/4 cup neutral oil or shallot oil
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb Brussels Sprouts bottoms trimmed
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 6 Boquerones (optional)
Ingredients
caesar dressing
salad
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- Add everything EXCEPT the two oils to a blender or food processor (with some hole or spot you can use to pour stuff in while its on). Blitz everything to combine.
- With the blender/processor running, drizzle both oils into the dressing in a small stream to emulsify. Add salt if needed (keep in mind anchovies, parm and Worcestershire sauce are all salty so you may not need any!)
- If you are lucky enough to have an appliance with an adjustable slicing blade, by all means use it (we're looking for roughly 1/16 inch slices). If not, slice the Brussels Sprouts as thinly as possible with a paring knife.
- Toss shallot and sprouts with dressing. Depending on how thin your Brussels Sprout shreds are, you may need more or less dressing so add it as needed.
- Top the salad: first Parmesan, then breadcrumbs, and then scatter your Boquerones if using
Salad can be made a couple hours before serving and keeps in the fridge for 5-7 days. Toppings can be prepped ahead, but wait until serving to add them so everything feels fresh.
If I have some shallot oil (the byproduct of frying shallots, obviously) I like to use that in place of the neutral oil here. Otherwise, I just use sunflower or safflower oil (vegetable oil also works here)
You can find Boquerones (marinated white anchovies) at Whole Foods, Italian specialty shops and if you’re in Houston they stock them at Central Market, Downtown Specs and Phoenicia
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