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Le Francais
I was told that you can make the salad and dressing without any anchovies by using something called Worcestershire Sauce instead. Being french I have no idea what that is or how to make it. Could anyone give me a good recipe? Me and my fiancee love Caesar Salads but she hates fish. Thanks!
Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce is available in France. In stores. Being French is no longer a good excuse for not trying it, and my guess is that it's cheaper to buy than to make at home -- not to mention a helluva lot more convenient.
Assuming that Cesar Cardini invented Caesar salad (he probably did, but it's not certain), the "original" Ceasar salad did not contain any anchovies. However, many "classic" (old-school) Caesar salads. Worcestershire sauce is not a substitute for anchovies in the sense of one or the other. Worcestershire sauce is almost always a component, whether or not anchovies are used.
The salad first became popular in the western US in the mid-twenties, and by the fifties was well established throughout the country; it remains very popular. Given it's longevity, as you might expect, there are a lot of variations. Some of them, Gordon Ramsay's for instance, are complete travesties.
As other people have already commented, beating mashed anchovies (or anchovy paste) into Caesar salad dressing does not make the dressing at all fishy. Yes, the anchovy is salt enough so that you don't need additional salt, but salt is never a problem. The real purpose in using anchovy is to add "fundament," or "bottom." Something you might think of as "umami."
Anchovy was a very common component of salad dressings at the time Caesar salads enjoyed their first popularity so it's not surprising that it worked its way in as a dressing component. If you like, you may also use fillets of anchovy as a garnish. I do, it's not uncommon, but it certainly is not mandatory.
FWIW, Cardini's (the restaurant) was not actually in Tijuana. It was a roadhouse, just barely on the Mexican side of the border, on the way to Tijuana, that allowed SoCal Americans to drink during prohibition. Whether or not Lea and Perrins was available in Tijuana at the time (and how would anyone know that it was not?), it was certainly available elsewhere and was certainly a part of Cardini's original (assuming he was the first). But the idea here is not to recreate Cesar Cardini's, but to make the best Caesar salad possible. I've eaten a lot of Caesar salads over the years, and have NEVER seen parsley until reading Margcata's recipe.
Here's my recipe for a classic version. It's based on the salad served at Nickodell's, once a Hollywood fixture. If you try it, I guarantee your fiancee will not taste the anchovy. Remember to taste before using to judge the power of the lemons.
I'm curious as to what's in your fiancee's and your current beloved Caesar salad. Can you provide a recipe or at least a description?
BDL