'Render unto Ceasar' Salad

Part of the joy I take in cooking comes from my Aunt Margeaux, who is not only an extremely stylish and beautiful woman, she is also a vegetarian genius in the kitchen!  When I was 14 I spent the end of my 7th grade year living with her family in their Tea House styled home in the mountains overlooking Stinson Beach.  I was in the best shape of my life and ate this exquisite ceasar-style salad daily.  It is a flavor that can be defined as a ceasar dressing because of the ingredients but this dressing is uniquely tangy and is of the lighter persuasion.  Ceasar in restaurants often turns me off because of it's thicker creamier texture.  This dressing doesn't contain any cream or dairy product and is meant only to lightly coat your tossed salad.

This makes dressing for a salad that would serve at least 8!

Ingredients
1/2 C. Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
3 TBSP Fresh pureed Garlic  (using a Mortar & 
             Pestle with 1 Tsp. Salt or a food processer)
3 TBSP  Olive Oil
Anchovy Paste (To taste...normally I squeeze out 1 & 1/2 inches of paste...about 1.5 tsp)


Put all the ingredients in a jar or blender and shake or blend vigorously for several minutes then chill.  The colder the dressing is, the more flavor comes out.

Pour the dressing over 2-3 heads of chopped romaine, grated or chopped Parmesan cheese, and some croutons.   Add some chopped chicken off the grill or last night's roast into the mix for some meat and protein.


Feel free to add whatever your favorite veggies are to your salad.  The roman empire died long ago and won't be offended if you take creative liberty with you salad.  Plus brighter veggies add more vitamins and nutrient value to your meal.

Voi'La

(My roomate Lydia actually gets most the credit for the salad creation...she just devoured all the leftover veggies in the fridge with a dull chop and tossed them with my dressing genius to create this wonder!)