Caesar Salad with Chicharone

If there is one item that is ubiquitous in restaurants, it’s Caesar salad and for good reason. If made with the real ingredients, the dressing is packed with umami! It’s a dressing that is fundamentally a seasoned mayonnaise since the base of the dressing starts with an emulsion of egg yolks and oil. So for this recipe, we will be building on the mayonnaise recipe described in the sauce section. And instead of using bacon bits, we will be indulging a little bit by braising and crisping pork belly. A proper Chicharone!

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Ingredients:

Cook time 2.5 hours

  • 1 cup mayonnaise

  • 2 tbsp lemon juice

  • 1 tbsp anchovies, minced

  • 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard

  • 4 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1/2 cup parmeggiano reggiano, grated

  • 1 tbsp fish sauce

  • 1.5 kg pork belly skin on

  • 2 cups water

  • 1/4 cup salt

  • 1 tbsp black peppercorns

  • 4 whole pieces anise

  • 1 tsp clove

  • 1 stick cinnamon

  • 3 pieces bay leaves

  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed

  • 1/4 cup Black Maple

  • 1/2 baguette rustic bread

  • 1 tbsp olive oil

  • 2 tbsp buttter

  • 1 tsp rosemary, picked and chopped

  • Salt (to taste)

Instructions:

  1. Dressing: Since the mayonnaise is already made, all you have to do is mix all the ingredients together until it is homogenous. Only add the parmeggiano reggiano at the end since it will significantly thicken the sauce. This also avoids clumping of other ingredients. Let the dressing mature for a few hours to allow all the flavours to meld together

  2. Pork Belly Chicharone: Place all the dry ingredients in a pot and add the water. Bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, bring it to the lowest setting on your stove and hold for 30 minutes. Then place pork belly in the pot and cover. Continue to simmer for 2 hours. Once finished, place the pork belly on a tray and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Once cooled, slice pork belly against the grain 2 cm or 1” thick. To crisp the pork belly, preheat the oven to 190C/375F. If you have a convection oven lower it to 175C/350F. Place the pork belly slices on a baking tray and cook in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Turn the bellies occasionally

  3. Croutons: Put the butter in a large pan and place over low heat. Once melted, remove the pan from the heat and mix with the olive oil. Set aside. Tear apart the bread into bite-sized pieces. After, place the bread in the pan and toss with the oil, herbs and seasoning. Bake at 175C/350F for 10 minutes or until golden.

  4. Assemble the salad as desired. You can cut up the Chicharone or serve it whole to your guests.

Black MapleVictor Chadarov