Inspired Edibles

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Classic Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons and Caramelized Bacon

By 56 Comments

It was one of those nights where nothing is planned but everything falls into place.

We emerged from our Toronto hotel room mid-evening, turned the corner and took our chances on a historic building with a striking oak entrance (hand carved, it turns out).

We were escorted up the stairs and into the white-clothed dining room, past the marble fireplace and next to the candle blazoned piano.  It appeared that we may have been a tad underdressed, the four of us in our blue jeans.  No matter.  The folks at Tom Jones took good care of us.
The friendly piano man was taking our requests and playing his own collection of former world classics.  Remember this beauty by Badfinger… every fiber of my being was standing at attention.
But if the atmosphere was dynamite, the food was even better.  Of particular note was the House Caesar Salad.  Our waiter made it right in front of us in a gorgeous wooden bowl.  We watched him crack the egg, drizzle the Worcestershire sauce, whisk the olive oil and grate the Parmesan cheese.  It was mesmerizing and, without a doubt, the freshest tasting Caesar salad we’ve ever been treated to.

 

Classic Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons and Caramelized Bacon
  • 4 slices whole grain dark rye bread, (leave bread out on counter for at least one hour before making croutons)
  • 1 generous head Romaine lettuce, washed and gently torn
  • 6-8 strips of bacon
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 egg (you could also substitute 2 Tbsp natural mayonnaise)
  • 1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 2 tsp white rice vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tsp anchovy paste, or whole anchovy as desired
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • Sea salt and cracked pepper to taste
———–
Note:
The croutons and caramelized bacon taste best eaten with 30 minutes of baking.  You can assemble the salad dressing while the croutons and bacon are baking in the oven.
For the Homemade Croutons
    • 4 slices whole grain dark rye bread (leave bread out on counter for at least one hour before making croutons)
    • 2 Tbsp olive oil
    • Sea salt
    • Touch of chili pepper, if desired
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Cut rye bread into cubes and place in a bowl large enough to accommodate mixing.  Drizzle bread cubes with olive oil, sea salt and chili pepper (if using), and mix well to combine seasonings.
Spread seasoned bread cubes on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for approximately 10 minutes or until croutons are fragrant and crispy (you may wish to shake the pan and/or flip the croutons halfway through cooking).

 

For the Caramelized Bacon
  • 6-8 strips of bacon
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar

Keep oven at 400 F.

Lay 6-8 strips of bacon out on a non-stick baking sheet.

Sprinkle surface of bacon with 1 Tbsp of brown sugar and bake for 5 minutes.  Remove tray from oven and carefully flip bacon over (be careful, it’s hot).  Sprinkle the other side of bacon with remaining brown sugar and return tray to oven for another 5 minutes or until desired doneness is achieved (I like my bacon well done so I leave it in longer).

For the Caesar Salad Dressing

  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 egg (you could also substitute 2 Tbsp natural mayonnaise)
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 2 tsp white rice vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tsp anchovy paste, or whole anchovies as desired
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Using a wooden bowl for the salad, rub fresh garlic along the surface of the bowl.  For a large bowl, 2 garlic cloves is ideal.
Once you have rubbed the bowl with garlic, you can begin making your dressing right in the bowl.  Add egg (or natural mayonnaise), Worcestershire sauce, mustard, black pepper and anchovy paste (if using).  Whisk ingredients together in bowl with a fork.

 

Add olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and rice vinegar to bowl, whisking to combine with other ingredients.  Add sea salt and adjust seasonings as desired.
Place torn Romaine lettuce into salad bowl with dressing and add fresh grated Parmesan, mixing gently to fully combine.
Divide salad among 4 bowls and top with homemade croutons and caramelized bacon pieces.

Comments

  2. Hello pig candy aka caramelized bacon! This looks gorgeous – I love the way you’re contrasting the sweet with the salty the crisp with the acid. Great salad

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  3. I’m simiar about the anchovies – I prefer the paste – not sure why I’m so squeamish about the real swimmers. I do like the taste in the dressing though – it adds that characteristic Caesar flavour. Have a great day MJ.

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  5. Haha, my son thought it was a worm too! Too funny…yes, the caramelized bacon is a beauty!

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  6. Thanks Eva! I hope you’re having a great day and that your civic duites are not too unpleasant ;0

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  7. Me too Elly – I’m always looking for excuses to make it… one of my brother’s loves it so whenever he visits, out comes the Caesar! :)

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  9. I just recently discovered caramelized bacon but, I tell you what, it’s one of the tastiest things ever – where are you located Alyssa?

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  10. I love night’s like that, where you’re not necessary expecting much and are swept up in splendour.

    Cheers Charles!

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  14. Hi Maureen, I think I may have used Canadian bacon :) but I suspect it’s all the same goodness… do they not have good bacon in Australia?

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  15. Thanks Kristy ~ I hope you give it a try sometime…. so delicious any time of year! :0)

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  17. Hi Amy! Me too… so yummy and fresh with the burst of lemon and garlicky goodness :)

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  19. It sounds like your maman was quite the culinary diva… love it and hope you enjoy if you make it France. Have a great day :)

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  20. Yay for sprouted bread! (my then 9 year-old son made me a salad on mother’s day with sprouts he grew in his room! It was a wow) :)

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  22. The boys were with us but you know, there getting older and actually really appreciated the evening… it was a magical night. You might prefer to use regular mayonnaise (I never use light because of the additives – binders/fillers – yuck) – the egg is emulsified.

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  23. The bacon is SENS-ational (sorry, had to work in my hockey team there ;0). We make it a couple times of year – including CHristmas morning – yummmm! I love garlicky dressings… swoon!

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  26. Thanks so much for dropping by Viviane! I think this is the first time someone has made a fresh salad for us of this nature table side… beautiful.

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  27. The dressing is so tasty and you can bring it up or down depending on your taste preference. Thanks for dropping in Lacy :)

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  28. I love getting ideas too – whether it’s a restaurant our in somebody else’s home… I always come away with new inspiration. Thanks Chris –

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  30. Sounds like a wonderful evening! Down here in the SW they make guacamole at your table, but I’ve never had a caesar salad made at the table. This recipe looks great! I especially like the caramelized bacon rather than anchovy strips. I can handle the paste but not the real thing.This salad sounds perfect!

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  32. Caramelized bacon? I’m with ya! I did a double take with that pic of your pre-wihsked dressing. I thought that anchovy paste was a little snake!

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  34. Delicious! I LOVE Caesar salad. I don’t eat it often enough. Love the idea of the bacon too.

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  36. I love caramelized bacon, it seems like such a natural on a caesar salad. I recently made a caesar salad but omited the eggs. Since living here, it look months for us to be able to eat the cooked eggs without getting sick , but I haven’t tried to eat them raw yet. I love table side presentation at restarants!

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  37. What a wonderful evening it sounded like you all had – love the idea of the salad – thanks for sharing it with us. The thought of that caramelised bacon is really making me feel a bit snackish right now :D

    Beautiful salad Kelly :)

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  41. caramelized bacon? what I wouldn’t give for some American style bacon right now – with our without caramelization! I think I miss bacon most of all. LOL

    Your salad is beautiful!

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  42. Fabulous pictures Kelly! And the caramelized bacon?! Come on! LOVE it! I’ve never made a caesar salad at home before – I think I’m going to make sure we do now. :) Yum! Yum! Yum!

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  43. Oh Kelly you’ve put a smile on my face right now :). I LOVE Caesar salad.. and with the addition of bacon in your recipe, I just fell in love with it even more. I love this

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  45. Awesome post! I love that song too…

    There’s a restaurant in Oklahoma City where the chef comes to your table to make his Caesar salad from scratch, he does such a great job, it’s almost like a ballet..

    the caramelized bacon takes your version to unprecedented levels of goodness…

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  46. A caesar salad never looked so good. My mom used to make caesar dressing from scratch. Oooh it tasted so good. I think it’s the anchovies that add the magic. We make a vinaigrette style caesar usually but I’d love to try your recipe. It reminds me of my mothers….

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  49. Sounds like you guys had a wonderful night out. I’m still waiting patiently for my elegant evening out with hubby to a nice beautiful dinner. It looks like I can recreat a beautiful meal at home. I have always wanted to make homemade ceasar dressing but worried about the raw egg, especially giving it to my little kids. Did you use pasteurized egg or just fresh eggs from Farmers market? The carmalized bacon sounds amazing too, this would be perfect for lunch!

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  50. Kelly, this salad looks fantastic. Everything about it, especially the caramelised bacon and the sauce! I also often prepare the sauce before putting the salad ingredients to the same bowl, but I have never heard about the garlic tip. It is very clever. I will try it next time. (Something tells me your salad would taste perfect with a potato gratin, unfortunately I have devoured everything!).

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  53. Absolutely lovely! I remember the days when every restaurant would make their caesar salad right in front of you… So glad some still do!

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  54. Mmm this sounds amazing! I love a good homemade caesar dressing, this is definitely one of the best recipes I’ve seen lately. And the caramelized bacon…mmmm. drooling over here!

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  55. Camamelized bacon, wow, you had me there, would’t have had to say another word! This salad sounds fantastic, Kelly – I will be trying it soon – I think I actually have all the ingredients – I love eating out and getting inspired like this, we are very similar in that way, for sure! Thanks, Chris

    Reply

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