Caeser Salad with Homemade Croutons

Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons

With crisp hearts of romaine, crunchy croutons, and a creamy nonfat Caeser dressing, you can re-create the flavor of the high-fat restaurant classic. This recipe yields more croutons and dressing than you need for one meal. Save the extra croutons in an airtight container and use them for soups and salad throughout the week. The leftover dressing will also keep, covered and refrigerated, for 3 or 4 days. Enjoy it as a dip with raw or blanched vegetables.

Serves four

Homemade Croutons:
1 day-old nonfat baguette, in 3/8 inch dice

Caesar Dressing:
1/2 cup nonfat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons grated nonfat Swiss cheese
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 large head romaine, washed, dried, and chopped into bite-size pieces

Make the croutons: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Put diced baguette on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Make Caesar dressing: Put all dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk to blend.

To assemble salad, put romaine in a salad bowl. Add 1 cup croutons and half the dressing. toss well to coat leaves evenly with dressing. Serve immediately.

Serving size: 1/4 head romaine, 1/4 cup croutons, 2 tablespoons dressing
Calories: 40
Fat: 0.3 g
Choleterol: 0.9 mg
Carbohydrate: 7.0 g
Protein: 2.0 g
Sodium: 128.0 mg

Source: Everyday Cooking with Dr. Dean Ornish

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