Gluten Free Deconstructed Grilled Caesar Salad

We eat a lot of Caesar salads at our house so it's no surprise that we sometimes make a gluten free Deconstructed Grilled Caesar Salad. Adventurous gluten free cooks want to make all the fun things and they can.

This grilled salad will go with just about anything you cook on the grill. I love it with my easy chicken and olive tapenade served with store bought tomato sauce. Serve grilled potato wedges or veggie packets on the side. To keep the cook outdoors, grilled fresh peaches make a stand out dessert or grilled fruit skewers with the fruit of your choice.

Ingredients

There’s nothing like homemade salad dressing and I live by that. Learn the secret for a thick dressing and make this salad often, grilled or not.

• Egg yolks - This is the secret to the smooth, richness of a dressing that is almost as thick as mayonnaise.

• Garlic - Essential for a good Caesar.

• Anchovy paste - This can be controversial but it makes an authentic dressing. See substitutes below.

• Red wine vinegar & lemon juice - The perfect acid to balance out the dressing.

• Dry mustard - A common emulsifier in salad dressings.

• Olive oil - The best quality extra virgin olive oil is ideal.

• Parmesan cheese - Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padana are both acceptable Italian cheeses.

• Gluten free bread for croutons - If you make the Parmesan wafers you could skip croutons. Since gluten free people have plenty of meals minus a glutinous item, I wanted to make the proper salad. All of it!

• Romaine lettuce hearts - I see these in a bag with three hearts, enough for six salads. Even after they are cut in half, the core keeps the lettuce together on the grill.

See recipe card for complete ingredient list and exact amounts.

Instructions

Tips for Cheese Wafers: The wafers were not easy to make but they do make the dish. Don't add stress by making them at the last minute. Make them the day before and follow these tips.

• Measure the cheese so you can drop it in the center of the pan all at once.
• Use the a soft flexible flipper, I like a small one.
• Flip each wafer with confidence so it doesn’t fold over itself in the pan.
• For the look of a French tuile (a baked cookie or wafer named after the look of a roof tile), lay the hot wafer over a rolling pin and allow it to cool completely.

Tips for Emulsified Dressings: Don't rush it. Slowly drizzle the oil into the mixture. The most critical time to get the thick dressing you want is when you are adding the first one third of the oil.

Instructions for Croutons

I used a loaf of store bought gluten free bread and trimmed the ends after it was toasted and brushed with oil. I cut them into small triangles because I can't help but make things a bit different. I reserved all the leftover bread edges to make breadcrumbs for savoury dishes like meatballs or meat loaf.

Storing Homemade Salad Dressing

This dressing will last in the fridge for two weeks. If you have extra dressing be sure to use it up in a regular Caesar salad.

Get The Tools

• This homemade dressing can be made with a hand blender or a food processor.
• Salad dressing bottles or Mason jars work well for homemade dressings. Ideally they should be labelled since all dressing looks the same in a day or two.
• For grating Parmesan cheese my favourite is a Microplane grater.
• I used two pans for the cheese wafers, a non-stick frying pan and a ceramic one, just to see if one pan gives better results than another.
• I have a heavy marble rolling pin with a wooden base which holds the cheese wafers perfectly while they cool and harden.