Mixed leaf caeser salad

• By Nick Camilleri Preziosi and Alex Mattei

These quantities make enough for four as a light lunch or for six as a starter.

You will need:

One iceberg lettuce, a generous handful of rocket leaves, a 50g-tin of anchovy fillets, 40g of Parmesan cheese (finely grated).

For the croutons: two small baguettes (cut into thin slices), one tablespoonful of extra-virgin olive oil, a bit of Parmesan cheese (finely grated), a clove of garlic (crushed).

For the dressing: a large egg, a clove of garlic, the juice of one lime, a teaspoonful of mustard powder, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, 150ml of extra-virgin olive oil, salt and freshly-milled black pepper.

You will also need a baking sheet.

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5/180C. Put the baguette pieces in a bowl together with a tablespoonful of olive oil, a rounded tablespoonful of Parmesan cheese, and a crushed clove of garlic. Stir well, so that the bread is evenly coated with cheese, oil and garlic. Now put the pieces of bread on a baking-sheet and bake them on the highest shelf for 10 minutes. Remove them from the oven and leave them to cool.

Make the dressing by breaking an egg into the bowl of a food processor, adding the garlic (peeled but not crushed), the lime juice, two anchovy fillets, the mustard powder and Worcestershire sauce. Blend it all until you have smooth paste. Keeping the motor running, slowly and steadily pour in the olive oil and the oil from the anchovy tin (you can combine the two in a jug first). When all the oil is in you should have a slightly thickened, emulsified sauce with the consistency of pouring-cream. Taste the dressing and season it with freshly milled black pepper and salt if you think it needs it.

Now arrange the salad leaves (breaking up the larger ones as you go) in a large, roomy salad bowl. Scatter the remaining anchovies and mix to distribute them evenly among the leaves. When you’re ready to serve, pour over the dressing and toss the salad very thoroughly to coat all the leaves. Sprinkle in 40g of grated Parmesan, mix again and finally, scatter on the croutons. Serve this immediately.