Sadly you can hardly find a decent Caesar salad in Switzerland when eating out and there is no romaine lettuce either. Luckily I found the little gem lettuce which is great as a subsitute, they are very crunchy and you hardly need to discard any soft leaves.

Years ago, I went to buy a wooden salad bowl in Hong Kong, just because I impulsively wanted to try making Caesar salad from scratch at home. I was intrigued by some restaurants which prepare the Caesar Salad in front of you and I wanted to imitate, hahaha! Honestly, I only used that wooden bowl once and until yesterday all of a sudden I wanted to try making it again. I have searched many versions in the internet and there was actually another webpage I wanted to link to but I have lost it somehow. Anyway, I learnt that instead of using raw egg, you can use mayonnaise and yogurt instead and so I did. The taste came out very well, Peter even said that mine was better than those in US, I said he really knew how to praise me so I will keep cooking more. Personally, I think most Caesar salad in the US taste good most of the time. So I would like to keep a record of my adapted version so I can keep making again and again!

Oh one note, I personally do not like croutons, so you will see I have skipped this in my version.

Adapted from Ellie Kreiger’s recipe in Food Network

Caesar salad dressing (no raw egg version):

• 1 anchovy fillet mashed or 1/2 tsp anchovy paste
• 1 tsp freshly crushed garlic
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp worchestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 3/4 cup (low-fat) natural yogurt
• 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• salt and ground black pepper for final seasoning

Ingredients:

• 4 little gem lettuce or 1 romaine lettuce
• 12 medium sized shrimps or more as desire (shelves removed and deveined)
• extra lemon juice for grilled shrimps

Directions:

1. The salad dressing can be prepared a few hours in advanced and keep in the fridge or just before serving.
2. In a wooden salad bowl or a large bowl, mash the anchovy into a paste, then add in the garlic and salt and mix well to a paste
3. Then add in the worchestershire sauce, mayonnaise and yogurt, stir to mix well. Add in the lemon juice and then gradually whisk in the olive oil little by little briskly until you get a thick salad dressing.
4. Stir in half of the grated parmesan cheese.
5. Taste to see if need to add more salt. Final touch with some fresh ground pepper.
6. Immerse 4 long bamboo sticks for 10 mins. Cut the lettuce into bit size. If using romaine lettuce, discard the soft leaves. Wash, drain and set aside.
7. Preheat a grill pan or a griddle pan.
8. Place the deveined shrimps into a bowl, add in some olive oil, salt and pepper, toss and leave for a few minutes.
9. Insert the shrimps into bamboo sticks, one stick on the head side and one stick on the tail side. i.e. 6 shrimps on each pair of sticks.
10. When the pan is hot enough, grill the shrimps for 2-3 mins. Remove the sticks and drizzle with some lemon juice.
11. When ready to serve, lay the lettuce in a wooden or salad bowl, pour in the salad dressing, toss until the lettuce is well coated.
12. Lay the shrimps on top of the salad and serve immediately.
13. Leave the rest of the grated parmesan cheese on the table for those who would like more cheese on top.

Enjoy!

Notes:

If you are using a wooden salad bowl, transfer the salad dressing to a clean bowl after it’s made. Wash and dry the wooden bowl immediately, it is not good to leave the bowl with seasoning for extended long time.

Reference from: