Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Hailing the New Caesar

The ANNOTICO Report

 

Restaurateur Caesar (Cesare) Cardini  was born near Lake Maggiore in Italy in 1896 , and migrated to the US after WWI. He settled in San Diego, CA, with a significant Italian Fishing population. He became owner and operator of "Caesars" Hotel and Restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, "Caesars",  just across the border, to take advantage of the Prohibition Laws, and drew Hollywood Celebrities that  would escape for revelry. In the 1920s he originated the "Caesar Salad".  The story goes that Cardini threw the salad together from what was left in his kitchen after a bustling Fourth of July weekend.

 

The "traditional" Caesar salad was  whole romaine leaves, croutons, Parmesan, egg, anchovies, olive oil, lemon juice.

 

Aficionados have always debated whether to include the anchovies, since it was Caesar's brother Alex, that reportedly first inserted the anchovies (instead of Worcestershire sauce, when he ran out).

 

Purists also argue whether to serve the leaves whole or chopped. Since according to legend, it was Wallis Simpson - mistress and later wife of Prince Edward VIII - who popularized cutting the lettuce into manageable, bite-sized pieces. They also argued whether to coddle the egg or not.
 

But now comes the New Caesar!!!!!   

 

Chefs in Los Angeles are substituting frisee, radicchio, arugula, (even butter lettuce), or combinations instead or/with the romaine, not only for taste variety, but to give the salad the 'tricolore" colors

 

Several are substituting warm polenta croutons to give it more an Italian touch.

 

Another chef is avoiding the Anchovies and giving it a full on Tarragon  treatment. While Tarragon is used often in Italian cooking, it is more associated with French cooking. Why not Basil, Fennel, or Oregano ???

 

Hailing From Caesar

Butter lettuce, frissee and tarragon aren't what you'd expect in a Caesar,

but they're exactly what L.A. chefs are tossing up to give the salad a wild ride.

 

Los Angeles Times

By Noelle Carter, Times Staff Writer
July 18, 2007

 

CAESAR salad - romaine, croutons, Parmesan, egg, anchovies, olive oil, lemon juice. Aficionados have always debated whether to  

include the anchovies, whether to serve the leaves whole or chopped and whether to coddle the egg - but what about the frissee, or the tarragon, or the polenta croutons?

Lately and in L.A., some great new salads are evolving from the Caesar tradition. An intriguing tangle of fris?e, radicchio and wild arugula with a bright dressing - anchovies, olive oil, lemon juice, no egg. Or butter lettuce - yes, butter lettuce - topped with crisp-tender pan-fried cubes of polenta. Whole leaves of romaine with a tarragon aioli-based dressing: there's egg but no anchovies.

At Pizzeria Mozza, the insalata tricolore  from executive chef Matt Molina starts with the vivid red-green display of that frissee, radicchio and arugula topped with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. But Caesar's influence is apparent in a light but assertive combination of lemon juice, olive oil and garlic emboldened with plenty of anchovies.< BR>
Vincenti Ristorante in Brentwood also departs from the traditional green, using butter lettuce as a strikingly different base. Pan-fried polenta cubes (crisp on the outside, deliciously tender within) garnish the salad, nestled in among strips of fresh-shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano. Chef Nicola Mastronardi said he wanted a salad that was more Italian than the traditional Caesar, and the warm polenta croutons do the job.

Which brings us back to tarragon.

Differently dressed

AT Opus, they've kept the classic romaine but totally reinvented the dressing.

"I'm a big fan of tarragon," says Opus executive chef Josef Centeno. The distinctive aromatic adds another depth of flavor to the salad. Centeno's tarragon aioli-based dressing lightly coats tender whole leaves of romaine. He's a traditionalist on the point of whole or chopped lettuce leaves; Tijuana restaurateur Caesar Cardini's 1920s original contained whole romaine leaves. (According to legend, it was Wallis Simpson - mistress and later wife of Prince Edward VIII - who popularized cutting the lettuce into manageable, bite-sized pieces.)

But Centeno's a rebel on the dressing and accouterments front. His dressing starts as a thick tarragon aioli, which he says is also great on sandwiches. Throw in a little garlic, olive oil, sherry vinegar and Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses and blend in an assortment of garden-fresh herbs, including dill, chives, chervil, parsley and tarragon. To finish the dish Opus style, spoon some creamy, seasoned burrata  on warm, toasted baguette slices and serve them alongside.

It's not as if the Caesar has had a quiet history as a salad. It almost seems as if the one constant is  change. The story goes that Cardini threw the salad together from what was left in his kitchen after a bustling Fourth of July weekend. His brother Alex reportedly first inserted the anchovies ( instead of Worcestershire sauce).

Guess he hadn't thought of tarragon.

noelle.carter@latimes.com

 

 

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