The Caesar Dressing Egg Yolk Swap You Should Try

Caesar salad is all about the dressing. Simply made with romaine lettuce, croutons, and dressing — Caesar salad is one of those dishes that's so perfect, it may make you nervous to mess with it. Although there is a bit of debate over its original creation, the most popular legend leads us to Caesar Cardini, an Italian who opened up a restaurant in Tijuana. As the story goes, Caesar created the salad by tossing together leftover ingredients on a busy night. Other stories say it was his brother, Alessandro, or simply an employee at his restaurant that invented the original salad (via Food & Wine). Whichever way, it's a recipe that has become even more popular as time goes on.

Traditionally made with anchovies, garlic, egg yolk, lemon juice or Worcestershire sauce, oil, and parmesan cheese, many have made their own slight variations of Caesar dressing (via Bon Appétit). The addition of Dijon mustard is debated, but almost everyone claims egg yolks are a necessary component. While yolk does create a creaminess that's hard to recreate, chef and author of "Eating Out Loud" Eden Grinshpan, uses a unique alternative to egg yolk in her Caesar dressing. What's even better is that as soon as you have this ingredient in your kitchen, it will quickly become a staple you can use in many other dishes!

Instead of egg yolk, Eden Grinshpan uses tahini in its place. In an appearance on "Live With Kelly and Ryan," Grinshpan, says the tahini, "Gives [the salad] that body and really coats the lettuce beautifully." 

Tahini is a sesame seed paste made from just three ingredients — sesame seeds, oil, and salt (via Inspired Taste). Prominent in Middle Eastern dishes, you'll traditionally find tahini in dishes like hummus, baba ganoush, or swirled into desserts. Although finding tahini in Caesar salad certainly isn't traditional, Grinshpan says that tahini's slightly nutty and earthy taste complements this salad and adds an extra depth of flavor to the dressing. Plus, tahini is naturally vegan so if you're not a fan of anchovies or looking to make your next Caesar dressing vegan, it's a solid substitute. 

While there's always a place for the more traditional recipe, at the very least, we think Grinshpan's swap is worth a try. Isn't it fun to try something new every once in awhile?