The article has been automatically translated into English by Google Translate from Russian and has not been edited.

'America's most outstanding dish': how an immigrant came up with a Caesar salad

'30.05.2021'

Source: Air force

The salad, popular all over the world, received the title of “the most outstanding US dish in half a century”, but it was created in Mexico by an Italian immigrant and only after that it began to be served in America. What is the main secret of the multinational “Caesar”?

Photo: Shutterstock

The San Isidro border crossing between the American San Diego and the Mexican city of Tijuana is the largest in the world, says Sasha Gora for Air force.

At noon on Friday, thousands of Mexicans rush home after a week of work. Americans go to Mexico for a weekend. I'm heading over to Tijuana to dine at the restaurant where Caesar salad was invented.

That's right - one of the most famous American dishes was invented in Mexico.

Stamped in my passport and crossing the border, I find myself on Avenida Revolucion, the main street of Tijuana, on which Caesar's bar-restaurant is located near the border.

The name of the restaurant and the huge black-and-white portrait of its founder, Cesare (Caesar) Cardini, are hidden in the dense greenery of the palm trees. Near the inscription - “Place of creation of the legendary Caesar salad”.

After moving to the United States from Italy in the early years of the 1927th century, Cardini first opened a restaurant in Sacramento and later in San Diego. But when the US passed the "dry law", he moved across the border to Tijuana, where in XNUMX he opened a new establishment, which will soon glorify him throughout the world.

Cardini's daughter, Rosa, recalled until her death in 2003, how her father invented a salad named after him. This happened 4 July 1924. According to legend, there were so many visitors in the restaurant on Independence Day of the USA that the kitchen ran out of food. And Cardini had to cook from what was left.

He took lettuce leaves, raw yolk, parmesan cheese and other food leftovers, and as a result prepared a surprisingly tasty dish.

On the subject: Legendary American Potato Salad

In the 1920s, when alcohol was banned in the United States, crowds of American stars flocked to Tijuana to have fun. Soon, rumors began to spread among the Hollywood elite about the salad served at Caesar's.

To try the crispy leaves with a spicy sauce, Clark Gable and Jean Harlow went to Tijuana.

Famous American chef Julia Child describes one of her first childhood memories. The family came to a Mexican restaurant from California, and the girl remembers how Cardini personally cooked her famous salad for them.

Quite quickly, the salad became known not only in Mexico and California, but throughout the world. In the 1940s, Gourmet magazine called the dish “the gastronomic event of our time”.

1953 The International Gourmet Society confers Caesar the honorary title of America's Outstanding Recipe of the Last 50 Years.

Cardini moved from Tijuana to Los Angeles, where Caesar sauce was patented in 1948. It is still sold today under the name "Caesar Cardini Sauce". However, although the brand is registered in the United States, the restaurant that inspired its creation remains in Tijuana as before.

In 2009, Caesar's restaurant, which Cardini no longer owned, went bankrupt and soon closed. Within a year, a local family bought it out and, after a full restoration, reopened the establishment.

“Caesar is a symbol of our city,” says Javier Plasencia, famous Mexican chef and new owner of the restaurant. “This is one of the few cultural monuments that we have.”

"Caesar" is not just a dish, it is a choreography - a slow dance of viscous sauce and lettuce leaves. "

Its preparation is reminiscent of a performance taking place in front of restaurant visitors.

The waiter rolls out the ingredients cart for Caesar. He adds a spoonful of minced garlic, some mustard and canned anchovies to a large wooden bowl, and a few drops of Worcester sauce. Then he breaks the raw egg and, delicately holding it with two spoons, pours the yolk into a bowl.

After that, add one or two drops of lime juice and thoroughly mixes all the wooden tongs. Some olive oil and finely grated parmesan last into the sauce.

When the sauce is ready, the waiter gently mixes it with fresh lettuce leaves and lay out the plates. Peppers a little and puts one single crostini on top, and then pours Parmesan on it. And no fried crackers, slices of bacon or lemon juice.

On the subject: How oysters from eating the poor have become a delicacy all over the world

Despite the name of the salad and its legendary history, it is not fully known who exactly invented "Caesar". Some of the culinary historians speculate that it may have been Cesare Cardini's brother, Alex. He started working as a cook at the age of 10 in Italy, then during the First World War he was an ace pilot, and in 1926 he moved to Tijuana, where he and his brother opened a restaurant.

“At first the salad was called 'Aviator' and only later became known as 'Caesar', but in fairness I call it 'Alex and Caesar Cardini's salad,'” says researcher Diana Kennedy.

One way or another, but when the salad began its journey to the north of the American continent, one of its key ingredients changed.

Today, most recipes use lemon juice instead of fresh lime. Even in encyclopedias, salad is defined as a dish with lemon. Some have suggested that the reason for this is the confusion with the names of these fruits in Spanish. And lime and lemon in Spanish are equally called limón.

One thing is certain: an Italian immigrant invented one of the most famous salads in the United States in the Mexican city of Tijuana from the leaves of “Roman salad” (this is how the name “Romain” literally translates).

It looks like Caesar salad is well mixed not only with different ingredients, but also with cultures. Therefore, the dish is well worth crossing the border for.

Follow success stories, tips, and more by subscribing to Woman.ForumDaily on Facebook, and don't miss the main thing in our mailing list

WP2Social Auto Publish Powered By: XYZScripts.com