Two-Bite Caesar Salads

Hosting a dinner party but don’t have enough dining space?  One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is to set up mini food stations around your home.  This way your guests can mingle and get a chance to sample the goodies at each station.  This recipe says ‘two-bite‘ but I think that depends on the size of the muffin tin you use.  So keep this in mind when planning a party where your guests will be wondering around your home.  Pancetta is Italian bacon that is salt-cured and spiced.  The Caesar Salad 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”.  For a different Caesar, try Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salad.

Makes 12
recipe from Canadian House & Home
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24 thin slices pancetta
1 small clove garlic, peeled
1/2 small anchovy fillet
1 egg yolk
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon capers
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
3 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1/3 cup small croutons (preferably homemade)
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 190c (375f).  Turn a muffin tin upside down and place it on a baking sheet.  Drape 2 slices of pancetta over each muffin cup, overlapping to create a little cup.  Bake 8 to 12 minutes or until crisped and golden.  Carefully transfer to a rack to cool completely.  In a food processor, add garlic and anchovy and process until minced.  Add egg yoke, lemon juice, capers, salt and pepper and process again.  With the machine running, slowly drizzle in olive oil until dressing is emulsified.  Just before serving, toss romaine with enough dressing to coat the leaves.  Add croutons and toss again.  You may need to add more dressing.  Divide salad among pancetta cups.  Top with freshly grated Parmesan and serve immediately.

The Culinary Chase’s Note:  Add 2 teaspoons of the lemon juice first as you may find this will be enough.  I wasn’t able to get pancetta and used prosciutto instead.  These little Caesar cups are visually enticing and are a new twist on an old recipe.

By The Glass Tasting Note:  Classic food and wine pairings such as Caesar salad and Chardonnay never go out of style. While the ABC (“anything but Chardonnay”) trend has made it popular to reject the lumber-laden Chardonnay that dominated our fridges in the 90s, a new breed of oak restrained Chardonnay is keeping the grape current and fresh without distracting from the grape’s classically elegant flavours. When looking for a match to Caesar Salad this is an opportune time to return to the classic character of an oaked Chardonnay from a cool climate, as the wine’s creamy flavours echoes the richness and texture of the dressing while any underlying acidity will work with the saltiness of the anchovies, capers and Parmesan. So where to look? If you are into California, search out cool corners where Chardonnay likes to hang out such as the Sonoma Coast, Carneros, the Santa Lucia Highlands in Monterey or coastal areas of Santa Barbara County. Burgundy of course is a natural but Chardonnay’s versatility (some might say grow anywhere like a weed character) also means you can experiment with cool climate Chardonnay from Ontario’s Niagara Peninsula, Long Island in New York and Northern Italy.