Deconstructed caesar salad (adapted from roland's recipe)

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, minced (or to taste)
• 1/4 c reduced-sodium soy-sauce or use 1 tbsp anchovy paste (or to taste)
• 1/4 c freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 c fat free mayo (instead of egg)
• 4 grilled croustini
• 4 medium thick slices of peameal bacon.
• 4 tbsp EVOO, the darker the better
• 2 cloves garlic, minced finely
• 2 medium sized romaine hearts
• 12 cherry tomatoes, various colours, cut in half
• 1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

Preparation

• Put the garlic, soy sauce (or anchovy paste), lemon juice and mayo into a blender and blend thoroughly. Refrigerate.
  Dressings usually taste better when the flavours have time to combine, I would recommend making the dressing the night before.
  Cut each romaine directly down the centre, long-way. Brush off any sand or wash and allow to drip dry.
  While the romaine is drying, mix the minced garlic and 4 tbsp EVOO in a small sauce pan. Heat gently to infuse the EVOO with the garlic (do not boil, garlic will be bitter instead of sweet and nutty).
  Brush cut side of the romaine with the warm (not boiling) garlic EVOO mix and sprinkle sea salt on each side. Set aside. Brush each side of the croustini with the remaining EVOO garlic mixture, set aside.
  Pre-heat grill to around 357°F. Grill each side of the pea-meal bacon and cook 4-5 minutes, depending on thickness. You want grill marks on them. Grill the croustini at the same time as the peameal, you will want the croustini soft in the centre slightly toasted on the surface.
  When you have flipped the peameal bacon, place each romaine on the grill cut side down. Grill to desired char (Roland likes a real char, and it was delicious, but if you suffer from heart burn, you will not want to char too much).
  Assembly: Place one slice of peameal on each plate, add the grilled romaine semi overlapping the peameal, sprinkle with the halved cherry tomatoes (6 halves each); set the croustini against the grilled romaine; drizzle with the dressing (I am going to use a Clear Squeeze Sauce Bottle so I can control it) and shave large shavings of the Parmesan on each plate. Serve immediately.

Questions

Photos of members who cooked this recipe

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