This recipe is brought to you by the Easter Bunny. Many factors came into play in the development of this recipe, but the two tipping points were two little gifts from the Easter Bunny (actually two different Easter Bunnies, but let’s not get technical). Let me explain . . .
Last week, the Easter Bunny brought me this month’s copy of Eating Well magazine. I kind of forgot how nice it is to hold an actual, printed magazine, dog-earing the pages that looked appealing. According to Eating Well magazine (and the rest of the world), asparagus is in season! I would not know this to be a fact because my chain grocery store has the exact same amount of asparagus it has had all winter (spoiler: almost none). My winter Farmer’s Market is only every other week, and due to Easter, I haven’t been in at least a month. So thank you, Eating Well and Easter Bunny for informing me.
One of the recipes I dog-eared in the magazine was for Asparagus & Baby Kale Caesar Salad. Prior to this, it never occurred to me that you could eat asparagus raw. Eating Well, you are an arsenal of useful information BUT I didn’t use your recipe. For one thing, it contains KALE! The taste tester and I might be the only two people in the world who haven’t jumped on the whole kale bandwagon. Or at least the only two people who will admit it on the Internet. News Flash People of the Internet: You can stop pretending to like kale!! We don’t care! Just admit it, it does not taste good!!! Every recipe I have ever made with kale has tasted infinitely better once I omitted the kale. But it’s good for you, I hear you saying. Well eat some spinach, take a multi-vitamin, and call it a day! I promise not to judge you, so long as you promise not to judge me someday when I post a recipe for kale salad that is the exception to the I-don’t-like-kale rule.
Then, the a different Easter Bunny brought me that adorable little dressing container pictured above. It was the perfect container for the perfect Caesar dressing, which also did not come from Eating Well (theirs contained a raw egg yolk, which, as I wrote before, always makes me hesitant). I already had an excellent Caesar dressing recipe that I found in Dana Cowin’s cookbook Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen (which Santa brought me last Christmas).
The asiago was a new addition that I bought because it was on sale because I like to be adventurous, but you can use parmesan if that’s what you have. Also, I replace the anchovies in her recipe with worcestershire sauce, because I usually have that on hand and I don’t make it a habit to keep anchovies in my pantry. It is delicious with the anchovies (and not fishy at all), so don’t be afraid to try. If you want to use anchovies, just replace the worcestershire with six anchovy filets.
- 6-8 slices bread (any type will work, but I found an Italian asiago parmesan that was delicious!)
- 3 T. butter, melted
- 1 T. Asiago cheese, grated
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1½ t. worcestershire sauce
- 2 t. dijon mustard
- 3 T. lemon juice
- ¼ c. (heaping) mayonnaise*
- ¼ c. (scant) Greek yogurt*
- ½ c. olive oil
- ¼ c. grated Asiago cheese
- 1 bunch romaine lettuce, washed and cut into pieces
- 1 bunch red romaine lettuce, washed and cut into pieces
- 1 bunch asparagus, sliced thin
- Asiago cheese, grated (optional)
- Salt+Pepper (optional)
- Pre-heat oven to 350.
- Tear or cut the bread into small cubes.
- Toss with melted butter to coat.
- Spread onto parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until toasted.
- Store in airtight container for up to a week.
- Pulse garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Scrape down sides.
- Add worcestershire sauce, pulse.
- Add mustard, lemon juice, mayonnaise, and yogurt, pulse until combed. Scrape down sides.
- Add olive oil. If you have a pour-through food processor, leave the processor running and pour in a steady stream until combined. If not, just add ¼ c. of olive oil, pulse until combined, then add remaining ¼ c.
- Transfer dressing to bowl or jar. Add cheese and stir or shake to combine.
- Dressing will keep in the fridge for at least a week, maybe a little longer.
- Add lettuce to large bowl.
- Top with asparagus, croutons, dressing, cheese, and salt and pepper.
- Toss and serve immediately.
- To keep longer, omit the croutons, dressing, and cheese until ready to serve.
- WARNING: This dressing is addicting.