Hot Nights, Big Salads

And the most ridiculous bowl

Issue 27: From Sara Kate

Hot nights like these call for light, cold dinners. This time of year, don’t talk to me about gazpacho: the tomatoes aren’t good enough yet and I don’t want to think about soup, even if it’s chilled. Talk to me about big salads. 

This last weekend I busted out my mega bowl: twenty-four inches across and nine inches deep. It was a wedding gift to me almost twenty years ago from a family friend who received it as a wedding gift herself. A dozen years ago its main purpose was as a place to plunk down my toddler and spin her around like the tea-cup ride at Disneyland. It has traveled with me through many phases of my life; from marriage to divorce, to serve forty at my fortieth, through eight years of winter fairs at my daughter’s school, and most recently to celebrate another birthday.

For this most recent meal, I made a simple salad to go on top of or to the side of tacos: mixed greens, see-through-thin radishes, pickled red onion slivers, toasted pumpkin seeds, and tons of cilantro. The dressing was lime juice, olive oil, a bit of honey, more pumpkin seeds for heft, cumin, and smoked paprika. It was so good, my taste-tester took a swig of the leftovers straight from the jar after I dressed the salad.

This week in our Dynamite Dinner Club we’re teaching our Cheater’s Caesar Salad (no raw egg to gross out the kids and it comes together super fast) -- but the truth is, a classic Caesar isn’t that hard and as long as you use pasteurized eggs, it’s not dangerous either. This is my go-to salad for a night so hot, you want nothing but leaves but they need to taste like more than leaves. Those nights are coming; hopefully this prepares you. I’ve written the recipe to serve four; multiply by ten if you have a ridiculous bowl like mine.

Classic Caesar Salad
Serves 4

8-10 ounces whole romaine lettuce leaves (tough outer leaves discarded)
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
6 oil-packed anchovy filets, roughly chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 large egg, lightly beaten
4 cups homemade (preferred) or store-bought croutons
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Wash and dry the romaine leaves, then roll them in paper towels and refrigerate until ready to use (this crisps up the leaves and ensures that they're dry.)

Rub the garlic cloves all over the inside of a large wooden serving bowl, and leave them in the bowl. Add the anchovies and a pinch of salt in a few tablespoons of the olive oil to form a paste. Whisk in the lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Slowly whisk in the remaining olive oil until smooth and emulsified.

Add the romaine to the bowl and toss well to coat the leaves. Drizzle the egg over leaves, and toss again until evenly coated. Add the croutons, Parmesan, and salt and pepper, and toss until evenly combined; serve immediately.