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Crispy Frico Caesar Salad

By Katie Leaird

Published on January 4, 2023

Time

1 hour

Yield

Serves 4

What Kids Are Saying

"It tasted like something I would get at a restaurant that has 5 stars." —Emily, recipe tester, age 13

Crispy Frico Caesar Salad

Ingredients

Vegetable oil spray 2 cups shredded Asiago cheese (6 ounces)⅓ cup mayonnaise 1 tablespoon lemon juice, squeezed from ½ lemon1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard 1½ teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1–2 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and minced (optional)1 small garlic clove, peeled and minced⅛ teaspoon pepper Pinch table salt 2 romaine lettuce hearts (12 ounces), cut into bite-size pieces

Before You Begin

Make sure to shred the Asiago cheese on the large holes of a box grater. Two ingredients give Caesar dressing lots of savory, umami taste: Worcestershire sauce (made from flavorful ingredients such as vinegar, onions, garlic, and more) and anchovies (don’t worry, your salad won’t taste like fish, we promise!).

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Trace bowl or plate on parchment paper and shape 4 frico following photos, “Step-by-Step: How to Shape Frico,” below.
  3. Place baking sheets in oven. Bake until cheese turns light golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.
  4. Use oven mitts to remove baking sheets from oven and place on 2 cooling racks (ask an adult for help). Let cool for 10 minutes.
  5. Use thin metal spatula to carefully lift frico off parchment paper and transfer each frico to separate serving plates.
  6. In large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, oil, Worcestershire, anchovies (if using), garlic, pepper, and salt.
  7. Add lettuce to bowl with dressing and use tongs to toss until lettuce is coated with dressing.
  8. Use tongs to divide salad evenly among frico “plates,” piling salad in center of each frico. Serve.

Crispy Frico Caesar Salad

Headshot of Katie Leaird
By Katie Leaird
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Time

1 hour

Yield

Serves 4

What Kids Are Saying

"It tasted like something I would get at a restaurant that has 5 stars." —Emily, recipe tester, age 13

Ingredients

Vegetable oil spray
2 cups shredded Asiago cheese (6 ounces)
⅓ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice, squeezed from ½ lemon
1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
1½ teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1–2 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and minced (optional)
1 small garlic clove, peeled and minced
⅛ teaspoon pepper
Pinch table salt
2 romaine lettuce hearts (12 ounces), cut into bite-size pieces

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

Vegetable oil spray
2 cups shredded Asiago cheese (6 ounces)
⅓ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice, squeezed from ½ lemon
1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
1½ teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1–2 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and minced (optional)
1 small garlic clove, peeled and minced
⅛ teaspoon pepper
Pinch table salt
2 romaine lettuce hearts (12 ounces), cut into bite-size pieces

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

Vegetable oil spray
2 cups shredded Asiago cheese (6 ounces)
⅓ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice, squeezed from ½ lemon
1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
1½ teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1–2 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and minced (optional)
1 small garlic clove, peeled and minced
⅛ teaspoon pepper
Pinch table salt
2 romaine lettuce hearts (12 ounces), cut into bite-size pieces

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

Why serve your salad on regular plates when you can serve it on delicious plates made of cheese? These crispy cheese rounds, known as frico ("FREE-ko"), hail from the northeast corner of Italy and are traditionally made with a cheese called Montasio. Montasio can be hard to find in the United States, so we use salty, nutty Asiago instead. To make plate-size frico, kids will need to find a bowl or plate with a 7-inch diameter (a straight line that runs from the edge of a circle through its center). Have kids practice using a ruler to measure the diameter of different bowls and plates in your kitchen until they find one with a diameter as close to 7 inches as possible.

Before You Begin

Make sure to shred the Asiago cheese on the large holes of a box grater. Two ingredients give Caesar dressing lots of savory, umami taste: Worcestershire sauce (made from flavorful ingredients such as vinegar, onions, garlic, and more) and anchovies (don’t worry, your salad won’t taste like fish, we promise!).

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Trace bowl or plate on parchment paper and shape 4 frico following photos, “Step-by-Step: How to Shape Frico,” below.
  3. Place baking sheets in oven. Bake until cheese turns light golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.
  4. Use oven mitts to remove baking sheets from oven and place on 2 cooling racks (ask an adult for help). Let cool for 10 minutes.
  5. Use thin metal spatula to carefully lift frico off parchment paper and transfer each frico to separate serving plates.
  6. In large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, oil, Worcestershire, anchovies (if using), garlic, pepper, and salt.
  7. Add lettuce to bowl with dressing and use tongs to toss until lettuce is coated with dressing.
  8. Use tongs to divide salad evenly among frico “plates,” piling salad in center of each frico. Serve.

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