Dear SooN Cooks of the Internet,

This classic recipe is a staple in my fridge. It pairs well with Italian but can also be a meal on it’s own. Be warned, it is extremely HEAVY on the garlic. That amount of garlic is not for everyone but if you’re not a garlic hater — give it a go.

I CANNOT wait to find out what you think in the comments section.

Happy SooN COOKING,

New to SooN COOKING?

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Suggested Hardware

Ingredients

(1) 2 oz can anchovy filets
(8) garlic cloves
1 tsp dijon mustard
Lemon zest from 1/4 lemon
Lemon juice from 1 whole lemon
1 egg yoke (preferably farm fresh)
3/4 cup *good* olive oil
1 TBS red wine vinegar
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/3 lbs Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1 tsp salt (~10 turns on the grinder)
1 tsp pepper (~10 turns on the grinder)

Other Critical Information

One of the most referenced quotes I’ve heard throughout my time at Amazon has been when [now] CEO of Worldwide Consumer Jeff Wilke said to “focus on the inputs”. I have also heard this quote simplified or rephrased [more times than I am able to count] as “good in = good out”.

I cannot help but think of this concept when I think of this recipe specifically. Do your best to invest in THE BEST QUALITY INGREDIENTS when you set out to make this dressing.

I mention this because I was curious about the impact these ingredients actually had on the end result which led me to conduct a side-by-side comparison [complete with a blind taste test] involving 8 of my friends and family members. [Read: nothing with any legal merit so please don’t sue me over this next statement.] All participants were aligned that the farm fresh egg, high quality olive oil and fancy parmesan cheese made the kind of difference that could be detected unanimously by these particpants.

No pressure — just thought you’d like to know!

New to SooN Cooking?

No problem! Some quick background on the concept: I love to cook and realized that I often had to adjust my meal plan to accomodate for for my friends and family with dietary requirements when they joined me for a meal. More often than not, I didn’t know how to modify my recipe to address their dietary needs which launched me into some deep research and left me with a lot of fear, uncertainty and doubt that I was preparing the recipe the right way for my guest. A concept that I now call Meal Planning FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt). To combat Meal Planning FUD each of my recipes has eight variations which covers everything from vegetarian to Kosher to gluten-free so that you can cut the Meal Planning FUD out of your life and feel comfortable serving the recipe to a variety of guests.

Check out the SooN Cooking About page for the complete details.

Choose your SooN COOKING™ Adventure

SooN COOKING Original

#1: prep ingredients

Zest and juice the lemon
Peel the garlic
Cube the cheese into 1-2 inch chunks

#2: process the non-liquid ingredients

Start by processing the garlic in the Cuisinart
Add the cheese and mix until evenly blended
Add the egg yoke, anchovies, mustard, lemon zest, salt and pepper and mix again

#3: add the liquid & finish

Add the lemon juice, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire and mix again
Add the olive oil and blend to distribute evenly
Taste the dressing and adjust taste to your preferences; add more olive oil if it is too thick or more cheese, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire if it is too garlicy
Repeat process until you are satisfied with the results

#4: Decision Time! Will you Serve or Reserve?

Dress Romaine for a traditional Caesar salad or give my favorite — Kale Caesar salad a try
Store any remaining dressing in the fridge for future use

SooN COOKING Express

The SooN COOKING Original recipe is as fast as I can make it! This recipe will yield enough dressing for 5-8 family size salads which makes it super fast when there is Reserve dressing on hand!

SooN COOKING Vegetarian

If your vegetarian does not eat fish — omit the anchovies and then follow the steps in the SooN COOKING Original recipe.

Not familiar with a Vegetarian diet? Learn more using the SooN LIVING Dietary Requirements Decoder.

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SooN COOKING Kosher

Make sure to use Kosher certified products when serving this dressing to someone who keeps Kosher. The SooN COOKING Original recipe is dairy and could not be paired with any meat dishes [so no chicken caesar salad].

Not familiar with a Kosher diet? Learn more using the SooN LIVING Dietary Requirements Decoder.

SooN COOKING Halal

Make sure to use Halal certified products when serving when serving this dressing to someone who keeps Halal. From there, the SooN COOKING Original recipes will work.

Not familiar with a Halal diet? Learn more using the SooN LIVING Dietary Requirements Decoder.

SooN COOKING Celiac

Make sure none of the ingredients used to make the dressing have gluten in them. Typically Worcestershire is NOT gluten free but according to the Lea & Perrins website theirs is. From there, the steps in the SooN COOKING Original recipe will work.

Not familiar with a Celiac diet? Learn more using the SooN LIVING Dietary Requirements Decoder.

SooN COOKING for One

Honestly, I wouldn’t make this without the farm fresh egg yoke and it is difficult to try and reduce the recipe to a single serving while still including the egg yoke. My suggestion is that you make it as outlined in the SooN COOKING Original recipe and store the remaining dressing for future use.

SooN COOKING for Kids

Funny story — my kids refuse to eat any leafy greens stating that they are “spicy” [which the most certainly are not]. The do however, love to help make this recipe and I’ve started to see success at the “taste step” by dipping in a piece of kale and asking them what they think [unsurprisingly they have never said THIS was spicy]. I’m also making slow headway by negotiating a bite of salad for a crouton. I’m sure we will get there someday…

SooN COOKING as a Photo Essay

#1: prep ingredients

zest the lemon

juice the lemon

peel the garlic

start the process party

#2: process the non-liquid ingredients

mince garlic

add cheese and mix

add non-liquids

process again

#3: add the liquid & finish

mix in everything else but the oil

add the oil and mix again

taste and adjust as needed

#4: Decision Time! Will you Serve or Reserve?

serve immediately as a salad

save for future use

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Feedback? Input? Questions?

We cannot wait to hear from you!

4 Comments

Robin on September 21, 2021 at 5:02 am

I’m finally trying this! I’ve craved your dressing so many times in the year(…or 2?!) since you brought us dinner after B was born. Since A doesn’t eat fish, I’ve put it off, but I have a garden full of kale begging for this dressing:) Thanks for sharing!
Reply
- SooN LIVING on September 28, 2021 at 7:38 pm
  
  I’m thrilled to hear that the kale was put to good use. If you want to include A next time — omit the anchovies and double the redwine vinegar. Enjoy!
  Reply
Richard Herzog on February 12, 2019 at 7:12 am

I love your photos
Reply
- Elisha Herzog on February 16, 2019 at 12:12 am
  
  Happy to hear that Richard, thank you!
  Reply

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