Zuni Cafe Caesar Salad

Judy  Rogers passed away on Monday at age 57 after battling cancer.  Her Zuni cafe in San Francisco is a culinary landmark, famous for finding perfection in the simplest dishes.  She was part of the wave of young chefs in the 70’s and 80’s who created what became known as ‘California cuisine.”   I love the story of how her life long love affair with food began with the luckiest of coincidences.  Growing up in St. Louis with a seriously non-gastronomic family, she spent her junior year in high school abroad.  She ended up living with the family of famous French chef Jean Troisgros who ran a three star restaurant in the Loire valley! Judy said the turning point for her was the ham sandwich Troisgros made for her when she arrived in their home at 4 a.m. “That was when I started paying attention to food.  There was no turning back after that ham sandwich.”  (On my semester abroad I lived on a dairy farm in a coal mining village in Yorkshire, England…can’t say I remember eating anything memorable!)

Probably the most famous Zuni Cafe dish is her roast chicken, which people make reservations months in advance to sample. Because it requires a wood burning oven, I thought instead I would try to recreate  her also famous version of Caesar salad. She suggests the key to success with this is to use the best ingredients you can find and taste each element every step of the way.  I remember ordering this at the restaurant the only time I ever dined there what must be a decade ago. It was the first time I had seen a Caesar served with whole leaves of Romaine; a knife and fork presentation.  We had this last night with some soup on a cold night (well, California cold) and it’s really worth the extra effort.

4 ounces country-style bread, cut into 3/4 -inch dice ( 4 cups)

1/3 cup plus 1 Tbs. mild olive oil

Sea salt

1/2 Tbs. red wine vinegar

1 salt-packed anchovy -rinsed, filleted and finely chopped

2 small cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

2 very fresh large eggs (see note)

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 pounds romaine lettuce hearts, cored, leaves separated and left whole.

Combine the anchovy and garlic in your salad bowl.  Add the vinegar, salt, pepper to taste and the 1/3 cup olive oil.  Let stand for 20 minutes.  Toss the bread cubes with the remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil and a pinch of salt.  Spread on a cookie sheet and toast in a 350 degree oven until golden, about 8 minutes.  Set aside.

At serving time, add the lemon juice and 2 Tbs. cheese to the dressing base.  Whisk in the eggs to form an emulsion. Gently toss the romaine leaves in the dressing, turning to coat all sides evenly.  Taste for salt and pepper and add, if necessary.  Divide the salad among chilled serving plates placing largest leaves on the bottom and smaller on top.  Toss the croutons in the empty bowl to absorb a bit of the remaining dressing, then sprinkle them over the greens and top the salad with remaining cheese and a fresh grind of pepper. Serves 4.

Note: If you are worried about the raw eggs, substitute an extra Tbs. of olive oil.