Barefoot Contessa's Caesar Salad With Pancetta
- Ready In:
- 35mins
- Ingredients:
- 16
- Serves:
-
6-8
ingredients
-
Salad
- 3⁄4 lb pancetta, sliced 1/2-inch thick
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes
- olive oil
- kosher salt
- fresh ground black pepper
- 2 large head romaine lettuce
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
-
For the dressing
- 1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature*
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
- 8 -10 anchovy fillets (optional)
- 1⁄2 cup fresh lemon juice (3 lemons)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 1⁄2 cups good mild olive oil
- 1⁄2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cut the pancetta into 1/2-inch cubes and cook it in a skillet over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until browned and crisp. (Pancetta is Italian bacon. You can find it in your Italian grocery or a specialty food store. Ask that it's cut 1/2-inch thick.).
- Remove to paper towels and drain.
- Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet and coat with olive oil.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until soft.
- Wash the lettuce leaves carefully and spin-dry in a salad spinner.
- Stack the leaves on a cutting board and cut them crosswise into 1 1/2-inch slices.
- Place them in a large mixing bowl.
- For the dressing, place the egg yolk (*if you're nervous about raw egg yolks, substitue 2 tablespoons of real mayonnaise), mustard, garlic, anchovies, lemon juice, salt, and pepper into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
- Process until smooth.
- With the food processor running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube (as though you were making mayonnaise), until thick.
- Add the 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese and pulse 3 times.
- Toss the lettuce with enough dressing to moisten well.
- Add 1 cup grated Parmesan and toss.
- Divide the lettuce among 6 or 8 plates and sprinkle with the pancetta roasted tomatoes. Serve at room temperature.
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Reviews
-
This is REALLY good. While I did not leave out the anchovies, (I too believe Caesar salad just is not the same without them) I only used 7 as opposed to 8-10, and still thought it was a bit salty. Next time I will use about 5 for my personal taste. Other than that...flawless! I really like the addition of pancetta. I wonder how turkey bacon would taste? Thanks for posting a great recipe Juenessa.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p>I am a native Texan and have lived in North Texas all my life. <br />I have a wonderful husband and we celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary on July 15, 2014! <br /><br /><a href=/\\expio1\users\jwilliams\My></a>I have three beautiful boys aged 17, 15, and 15. <br /><br />And then there's my little girls, Daisy & Chloe. Daisy is a terrier mix and Chloe is a Maltie-Poo.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/FFF/Switzerland-FFF4.gif alt=/ /> <br /><br /><br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/projects/200_PACpic.jpg border=0 alt=Photo /> <img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/projects/pacbanner.jpg border=0 alt=Photo /> <br /><br /><img src=http://www.satsleuth.com/cooking/RecipeSwap2.JPG alt=/ /> <br /><br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/Adopted1smp.jpg border=0 alt=Photo /> <img src=http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/67103/smPACp.jpg alt=/ /> <br /><br /><img src=http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj240/marienixon_715/kittencaljpg.jpg alt=/ /> <br /><br /><img src=http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/vseward/Bevy/officialmemberofthebevtaggame.jpg alt=/ /></p>