Romaine Hearts Caesar Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 hearts of romaine (pull away the floppiest, greenest outer leaves)
• ⅓ cup grated Pecorino Romano, plus additional cheese for serving
• ½ cup Hellmann's mayonnaise
• ¼ cup water
• 1½ teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 anchovy filllets
• ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ teaspoon Tabasco
• 8 turns freshly ground white pepper
• Fine sea salt, if needed
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Trim the root ends from the romaine, separate the leaves and wash and dry them. Place the lettuce in the fridge to chill while you prepare the dressing.
2. Combine ¼ cup of the Pecorino with the remaining ingredients (except the black pepper) in a blender and puree until the dressing is smooth. (If you don't have a blender, mince the garlic and anchovy, then whisk them together with the rest of the dressing ingredients.) Taste and add salt if necessary; the cheese, mayonnaise, Worcestershire and anchovies are all salty, so you probably won't need any additional salt. Add the ¼ cup of water to thin the dressing; add more water as needed.
3. Toss the chilled lettuce with the dressing in a large bowl. Transfer to serving plates or a serving platter and finish with a generous crowning of the remaining grated cheese and a few turns of black pepper. Serve at once.