Caesar salad with roasted squash
I love a good Caesar salad. Most of the time with crispy baked slices of ham or roasted chicken, but when the squash season arrives, I absolutely love it with baked squash, which contrasts beautifully with crispy lettuce and pungent sauce. And it always looks so good on large plates, perfect for sharing. This recipe is for 6-8 people, depending on what else is on the table and how big the appetites are.
4-6 heads of romaine salad
20 g finely grated Parmesan
some chives, if you can get
squash:
600 g squash, cut into 3 x 3 cm pieces
40 ml mild extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp thyme leaves
1 tsp fennel seeds
sea salt to taste
sauce:
4 quail eggs
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 anchovies in oil, chopped
20 g finely grated Parmesan
1 medium garlic clove, grated
1/2 tsp Worcester sauce
80 - 100 ml mild oil (try not to use olive oil as the taste will be too powerful)
30 g finely grated Parmesan
1 tbsp lemon juice
sea salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste
Heat the oven to 200° C. Combine all the squash ingredients, place in a single layer in a pan, and bake for 25–30 minutes until golden.
While the pumpkin is baking, make the sauce. In a blender, combine eggs, mustard, anchovies, 20 g of Parmesan, garlic, and Worcester sauce. Blend at a low speed. When it gets creamy (after 30 seconds), with the blender still running, slowly, slowly add oil. You might need to add just 80 ml of oil or maybe 100 ml. I usually make more and leave some sauce for the next day. The slow pouring will make the sauce creamy. Finally, mix in the rest of the cheese, lemon juice, salt, and pepper (latter to taste).
In a bowl, combine the lettuce with the sauce. When all of the leaves have been covered, put on a serving plate. Top with squash (you can use just baked squash or completely cooled). Sprinkle with some chives and more Parmesan, and serve.