Caesar's Brekkie

My mum makes the best Caesar salad I have ever tasted. No restaurant has ever been able to match it, in my opinion. I think the dressing is crucial, and my mum makes her dressing very traditionally, always using fresh eggs to form the base. It's just a perfect, perfect balance of flavours. When I was pregnant, I was craving the saltiness of this salad, but advice is strongly against consuming raw eggs throughout pregnancy. I loathe commercially produced caesar dressings, finding they often resemble an aoli. Nothing against aoli, but they're bland compared to a true caesar dressing. Mum suggested that I try making the dressing with store bought mayonnaise instead of the fresh eggs. Since then, it’s been a mainstay of my repertoire.

Mum and I began making this brekkie several years ago. It's a delicious breakfast when you want something that little bit special.

Serves 1
Quantities given for the sauce will serve 4, so just increase the other ingredients to make this for more people.

Ingredients
3 rashers middle bacon (choose a good, sow stall free product)
2 free range eggs
6 leaves cos lettuce
Parmigiano Reggiano

For the dressing:
4 tablespoons whole egg mayonnaise
3 anchovies
2 cloves garlic
½ cup of lightly flavoured Olive Oil
Juice of half a lemon

Salt and Pepper to season

Method

Place the bacon into a dry (no oil) frying pan on high heat. Cook for a minute and then flip to cook the other side. The pan will begin to smoke – add a ¼ cup of water and reduce the heat to moderate. Place ½ a cup of water into a small frying pan and bring to the boil. Add the two eggs and place a lid on immediately. Reduce the heat after about one minute and leave the lid on. Cook to desired runniness.
For the dressing, smash the garlic cloves and chop finely. Add all ingredients to a blender and wizz until combined.
Rinse the cos lettuce and roughly chop. Place the lettuce on a plate, top with the bacon, poached eggs and shaved parmigiano reggiano. Top with a few tablespoons of dressing. The left over dressing will keep in the fridge for up to a week.