Nori Caesar Salad
This salad embodies all my hopes and dreams for the summer (dang, dramatic much?). It’s effortless, refreshing, and inspiring. I didn’t realize that this little salad was the culinary spark I needed in the kitchen to get some inspiration to work on my book again. It reminded me that a comforting flavor, that I’ve always known to be a certain way can dramatically improve and reach new levels of deliciousness with just a simple addition.
Caesar salad is typically made with egg yolks, olive oil, lots of parmesan cheese, and anchovies. It’s tied with ranch as my favorite salad dressing. I love the theatrics of making caesar dressing too. At a classic steak house the salad cart wheels by and they make your entire salad right in front of you: crushing the anchovies, grating the parmesan, emulsifying the oil. It’s a beautiful sight!
My version of caesar salad is inspired by a similar salad I had in Cleveland many years ago at a now closed restaurants called The Plum. Crisp little gems were tossed in a creamy and bright dressing made with miso and anchovies and topped with a light dusting of furikake. I haven’t been able to get that salad out of my head. So I made it myself!
There is no parmesan in this dressing and it honestly doesn’t really need it. A tablespoon of miso paste provides that slightly funky, almost cheesy flavor and blends with the egg yolk and oil to creamy a silky texture. The furikake and nori enhance the brininess and savoriness of the anchovies perfectly. It doesn’t need croutons or anything, perfect as is! I love this salad so much that I’ve been making it pretty much every day for the last week. I literally dream about it and actually look forward to the next warm day so I can make this salad again! Hope you love it too!
Nori Caesar Salad
Serves 2 to 3 (easily scalable)
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 oz oil-packed anchovy filets (half a standard 2oz tin)
1 tbsp miso paste
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp furikake, more for topping
1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil
2 heads little gems, washed and torn into leaves (sub with chopped romaine lettuce)
2 nori sheets, torn or cut into smaller pieces
In a large serving platter, whisk to combine egg yolk, rice vinegar, anchovy filets, miso paste, sesame oil, salt, and black pepper. Use the whisk to break up the miso and anchovy filets until smooth. Whisk in furikake until smooth. While whisking continuously, slowly stream in the olive oil until creamy (use less oil if you’re happy with the consistency).
Add little gems and nori and toss until fully coated. Sprinkle on more furikake (and parmesan if you like) and serve immediately.