Brussels Caesar Salad

This is the poor law-student's version of a heavenly salad that Sarah McSimmons made for her 8-course Best of the Best dinner at City Grit on March 28, 2013. My friend David had an extra ticket and was kind enough to let me accompany him. It was one of the best meals I've had in New York in a long, long time.

Of all the courses, this salad was the only one that was both memorable and somewhat replicable. I've been meaning to try it, but my go-to is definitely not salad. I don't like vegetables -- the less the merrier. However, my friend Candice was coming over for dinner today and people seem to like green things just fine, so I figured this was my golden opportunity. The recipe still needs tweaking, especially the caesar dressing, but I'm very happy with it. Definitely a keeper!

Photo Credit: Candice

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad (with Anchovy Dressing)

For 2 servings

For the Caesar dressing (makes 1 cup)

1 ½ tsp of anchovy paste

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 whole egg

2 ½ tblsp lemon juice

1 tblsp Grey Poupon mustard

2 cups olive oil

salt

pepper

For the toasted breadcrumbs

1 tblsp olive oil

1/3 cup breadcrumbs

salt

2 tblsp grated Parmesan

For the rest of salad

A dozen large Brussels sprouts

2 grilled chicken breasts

For the Caesar dressing

1.     Place all ingredients except for the olive oil in a mixing bowl. Combine.

2.     While the mixer is on low, slowly drizzle the olive oil, thread-like, into the mixture. Process until smooth.

(This dressing can be stored up to 3 days in the fridge)

For the toasted breadcrumbs

1.     Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and stir until the breadcrumbs absorb all the oil.

2.     Fry for 5 min until golden-brown. Transfer to a bowl, and add salt, pepper and grated Parmesan. Toss with a fork until the cheese has melted, making sure the breadcrumbs don’t clump up. Set aside.

For the rest of salad

1.     Rinse the Brussels sprouts, and discard any bad outer leaves.

2.     Discard the stems. Slice the sprouts horizontally, either with a food processor, a mandolin, or a knife.

(I used a knife and my slices were pretty rough. This was fast and the heart of the sprouts stayed intact through the cooking, which is aesthetically pleasing.)

3.     Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Toss in the sprouts and fry for 6 min.

(Flip, rather than stir, and do it as little as you can. A little bit of charring adds a kick of flavor. Less stirring preserves more hearts – Ain’t that true about life.)

4.     Season with salt, and plate immediately.

5.     Slice the chicken breasts.

6.     Plate the chicken, sprinkle with bread crumbs, grate more Parmesan, and drizzle with sauce. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~

Why should you make this?

#1. Brussels sprouts are delicious!

#2. This is a totally jazzed-up Caesar salad (with anchovies, no less!). Had I the time, I would have used duck breasts. If POTUS were ever to show up to your house, you wouldn’t serve up your run-of-the-mill salad, would you? You need something like this in your cooking repertoire.

#3. It’s salad, so it’s healthy. My last three dinners have been tuna sandwich, Nutella sandwich, and scallion pancakes. Nada más. They say scurvy (that lovely disease where your teeth fall out of your gums due to a lack of Vitamin C) is now no longer a problem for sailors, as it was in the 17^th century; instead, it is most prevalent amongst college and graduate students. Can’t imagine why…

Why should you not make this?

#1. All this work for a goddamn salad? What is this... gussied up veggies thing? Yeah, that's right... it better be POTUS coming over to dinner tonight.