I love a big salad. Not just a Seinfeld one with “big lettuce, big carrots, and tomatoes as big as volleyballs,” but the ones that really have it all. I’m talking about crispy bacon bits, Dijon-rich vinaigrettes, and crumbles of goat cheese. Oh, and crispy almonds on top.
While cooking through Justin Warner’s debut book The Laws of Cooking…and How to Break Them, I came across a technique for making my big salads even bigger. It breaks a few rules (and a few eggs).
Warner starts with one of boldest salads there is: the Caesar. In a typical Caesar salad, anchovies give the dressing its signature punch (though the original was made not with 'chovies, but with Worcestershire sauce). Warner goes a step further and swaps in an entire can of smoky, briny oysters. He pours the oysters and (most of) the oil they're packed in into a blender, adds the other components of a Caesar dressing (eggs, Dijon, garlic, etc), and whirs away.
Much as I love clams and other bivalves, an entire can of smoked fish seemed like it could be overkill. Then again, the point here is to play it huge, not safe.
So I tried it. And sure enough, this salad dressing is big. If a traditional Caesar is a kick to the tastebuds, this is a Chuck Norris roundhouse. The smoke, the fat, the salt—it all comes together in an dressing so monstrous in flavor that you just might forget you’re eating salad for dinner. Or an entire can of fish.
But Warner doesn't stop there. He has you save some of the can’s oil—about a tablespoon—to fry your croutons. (You’re always making your own croutons, right?) And those croutons? Warner doesn't use day-old bread or pita. He uses crackers. Oyster crackers. Because of course he does.
This recipe calls for standard canned oysters—easily found in the supermarket—as a starting point, but in Warner's tradition of breaking rules, I'm thinking I'm going to try smoked clams or Portuguese smoked eel. But first-time rule breakers like you? Start with the oysters. You don't want to go too big too soon.
