Easy Caesar salad with fresh jalapeño

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By: Raph Rashid

Abc Life 

(photo by:) Hold the bacon and the croutons and make this simple and jalapeño  version of caesar salad instead.(ABC Life: Raph Rashid/Juliette Steen)

ure, the fancy oak or butter lettuces look great on the ‘gram, but they just can’t compete when it comes to crunch.
Nothing beats a roast chicken sandwich with shredded iceberg lettuce or even just a whole iceberg wedge with a simple vinaigrette.
But at the end of the day, cos lettuce wins out and its victory comes down to the Caesar salad.
Make your dressing to the right consistency and it will coat your cos leaves perfectly, giving a crunchy, creamy, zingy salad that goes great with pan-fried chicken schnitzel or crumbed eggplant.

Ingredients

1/2 tsp garlic, minced (about 1 small clove)

1 egg yolk

1 lemon, juiced

4 anchovies, finely chopped

1/2 to 1 cup of olive oil

1 1/2 cup pecorino cheese, finely grated (or Parmesan to substitute) tsp flaky sea salt

1/2 tsp Tabasco

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Salad:

1 cos lettuce, halved

1 fresh jalapeño, sliced

Optional: 1 radish, chopped in half, to serve

Method

  1. To make the dressing, place the garlic, egg yolk, lemon juice, anchovies, salt, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl. Whisk the ingredients together and, while whisking, slowly drizzle in half a cup of olive oil. Once it’s fully combined or emulsified, check the consistency. If the dressing is still really runny then add more oil. If it’s too thick you can add a teaspoon of white vinegar. Once you’re happy with the texture, add in a good crack of black pepper and 1/4 cup of pecorino cheese. Try it and adjust any seasonings to your taste.
  2. Prepare your lettuce by filling a deep mixing bowl with water, before adding the 2 halves of your head of lettuce. Gently wash the entire lettuce by prying apart the leaves. Once washed, remove lettuce from water and leave to dry in the fridge.
  3. To serve, spoon the Caesar dressing onto the lettuce, filling the leaves with the dressing. You may have some dressing left over that you can store in the fridge. Top with sliced jalapeños and some more pecorino. Slice the cos into sections and gently lift onto a serving dish. Serve with radish and dip it into any extra dressing!