Homemade Classic Caesar dressing

I have done a series of homemade dressings and have included a tab above, suzyhomemaker sauces, where you can find all of them listed with links.

One of my absolute favorite salads is a Caesar salad. When I go to a restaurant and cannot decide what to get, I will go with a Caesar. If we are trying a new restaurant out, many times I will order a Caesar - it helps me judge the restaurant. It is my go-to order. So it is surprising that it has taken me this long to attempt a homemade Caesar dressing.

Here is an example of the ingredients in a store-bought dressing:

Soybean Oil, Water, Parmesan and Romano Made From Cow's Milk, Cheeses (Part-skim Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes), Vinegar, Egg Yolks, Sugar, Contains less than 2% of Salt, Sodium Lactate, Red Wine Vinegar, Dried Garlic, Spice, Phosphoric Acid, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Anchovies, Whey, Butter (Cream, Salt), Dried Onions, Molasses, Xanthan Gum, Corn Syrup, Modified Food Starch, Buttermilk, Sodium Phosphate, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Defatted Soy Flour, Disodium Guanylate, Disodium Inosinate, Natural Flavor, Caramel Color, Vitamin E, Tamarind, Natamycin (Natural Preservative).

For my version, I wanted to go a more classic route. I wanted anchovies and raw egg yolk. I adapted my recipe from here.

Ingredients:
4 anchovies
2 cloves garlic
1 egg yolk
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil


You can use a food processor or mix by hand. If you mix by hand, mince the anchovies and garlic first. I started with the food processor. I mixed the anchovies, garlic, and egg yolk in food processor. Added salt pepper and lemon juice and pulsed. I then transferred it to a bowl and used a whisk while adding the oil. Add the oil slowly, about 1 teaspoon at a time. Whisk/pulse as you go.

You can add more oil or lemon juice depending on your taste. I thought more oil would over-power the flavor of the anchovies and lemon, so I kept it to only a quarter of a cup. When I make it again I will double the recipe since this only makes a little over a half a cup.

Check out these awesome to go salad dressing containers I found!