Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salad

Who hasn’t had or made a Caesar salad? The original version was created in 1924 by Caesar Cardini, an Italian restaurateur in Tijuana, Mexico. Supposedly Cardini invented the dish when a Fourth of July 1924 rush depleted the kitchen’s supplies. Cardini made do with what he had and successfully added the dramatic flair of the table-side tossing “by the chef”. Today, many restaurants offer a more substantial salad by topping a Caesar salad with grilled chicken, steak, smoked salmon or shrimp. This recipe helps to reduce some of the calories but by no means does it reduce the flavor!

Serves 4
recipe from LCBO Food & Drink Magazine

Dressing
1/4 cup 1% low fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup low fat mayonnaise
2 anchovies, chopped (add more if you like)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1-2 teaspoons chopped garlic (depends on how garlicky you like it)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan (add more to taste)
Freshly ground pepper

12 large shrimp, peeled & deveined
1 head romaine lettuce, washed and dried

Purée cottage cheese, mayonnaise, anchovies, lemon juice, Worcestershire, garlic and olive oil in food processor until smooth. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Season to taste. If dressing is too thick, thin down with a little warm water. Toss shrimps with 1/4 cup dressing and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes. Tear romaine leaves removing the thickest part of the stem. Toss with remaining dressing.

Preheat broiler, grill pan or bbq on medium-high heat. Drain shrimps and broil about 1 1/2 minutes per side, or until pink and slightly curled. Divide salad among 4 plates and top each salad with 3 shrimps. Add freshly ground black pepper and serve!

The Culinary Chase’s Note: I used sour cream or plain yogurt as I can’t seem to find cottage cheese here. If you do substitute the cottage cheese then just add more Parmesan otherwise you might find the dressing too runny.