Crisp Caesar salad with herbed croutons
When the only thing on the shelf is croutons, the answer is salad, dressed with a quick emulsion that pulls the garlic and umami from the croutons themselves. The romaine stays crisp and the crouton stays crunchy, a dinner that took no thought and ten minutes.
About 810 calories a serving, 22 g protein, 93 g carbohydrate, 38 g fat. From USDA figures for 86% of the ingredients; amounts are the recipe's.
To buy
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 2 ounces parmesan
From your shelf
- 1 cup Italian seasoning croutons (Food Lion)
Staples
- 1 clove garlic
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- Mince 1 clove garlic and whisk together in a bowl with 3 tablespoons oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until the dressing turns pale and thick, a minute or so.
- Tear 1 head romaine into bite-sized pieces and toss with the dressing in a large bowl, using tongs to coat the leaves lightly.
- Shave 2 ounces parmesan over the salad with a vegetable peeler, then scatter 1 cup croutons on top and serve right away.
Note The croutons here are both seasoning and textural contrast, so they stay separate and are added last. Leftovers of dressed salad will wilt in the fridge, but dressed romaine keeps four hours in a cool place if you must make it ahead. Serve with a glass of white wine or water with lemon.
On the label
ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), CANOLA AND/OR SUNFLOWER OIL (WITH ROSEMARY EXTRACT AND ASCORBIC ACID [TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS]), WHEY, YEAST, SALT, SUGAR, 2% OR LESS OF GARLIC POWDER, ONION POWDER, DEHYDRATED PARSLEY, TOMATO POWDER, SPICES, MILK, MALTODEXTRIN, YEAST EXTRACT, NATURAL FLAVORS (MILK), EXTRACTIVE OF PAPRIKA (COLOR), ENZYMES, ASCORBIC ACID.
Food Lion, breads & buns, serving 7 g, package 5 oz/141 g. Ingredients as printed on the label.
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Other croutons
- Wild Harvest organic premium seasoned croutonsWild Harvest
- Wild Harvest organic premium caesar croutonsWild Harvest
- Nature's Place seasoned croutonsNature's Place
- Streit's soup croutonsStreit's
- First Street restaurant style caesar croutons, restaurant style caesarFirst Street
- First Street restaurant style ranch croutons, restaurant style ranchFirst Street
- First Street home style seasoned croutons, home style seasonedFirst Street
- First Street restaurant style seasoned croutons, restaurant style seasonedFirst Street
- Rainbo croutons stuffing mix, croutonsRainbo
- Wegmans cheese & garlic twice-baked croutons, cheese & garlicWegmans
Cooks as croutons, italian seasoning. Half of it left? Use up the croutons.