How to Make a Great Caesar Salad If You’re Still a Little Afraid of Romaine
These are hard times for Caesar salad lovers. While it is reportedly safe to consume romaine lettuce, which you are absolutely sure is not from Yuma, Arizona, it is also perfectly normal to feel a little wary about this particular leaf. The good side is that this crisis gave us a great opportunity to talk about the other three parts of the plant that make the truly excellent Caesars.
Romaine is great in Caesars because it is quite crunchy even when seasoned with a lot of dressing, but it doesn’t have much of a flavor on its own. In short, it is a means of dressing, which is a very noble calling, but we can do better. The following leaves not only retain their texture in the Caesar salad but also bring a little bit of flavor to the party.
Endive
These crisp, bittersweet leaves of the ideal size are tough enough to withstand a decent dressing – the best part of Caesar – and have even better texture than romaine in my opinion. Endive never touches dirt, so it doesn’t need to be washed, but I like to at least wipe the outer leaves with a damp rag because I don’t know who touched them or where their hands were. After that, simply remove the core from the leaves, discarding any unpleasant looking, and stir with your favorite Caesar dressing. (Yes, and go for pale leaves; they taste better than super green.)
Brussels sprouts
While I don’t like whole raw sprouts, they make a delicious salad base when cut into thin slices or shredded . They’re pretty sturdy, which means they can spend the night dressing up without getting wet, which means you can cook your Caesar lunch the night before, grab it and go in the morning.
Radicchio
This purple head of lettuce is quite bitter, but that means it can balance even the most garlic anchovy dressing you can add. I like to peel the leaves off the scalp, stack them on top of each other and cut them into ribbons before seasoning and sprinkling with crispy garlic croutons, fresh pepper and Parmesan cheese.