Your Caesar Salad Is Lackluster Because Of This Simple Romaine Mistake

A Caesar salad is one of the most classic dishes, relatively simple yet bursting with flavor that always leaves an impression. But it has to be prepared the right way, as anybody who's had a disappointing one can attest, and that includes the romaine lettuce that is its base. Marissa Stevens, recipe developer and founder of Pinch and Swirl, explained to Food Republic that a Caesar salad can be dragged down by the basic mistake of not drying the romaine.

"You must thoroughly dry the lettuce before adding the dressing when making a Caesar salad at home; that's where most people go wrong," she told us. "If the romaine is still damp when you toss it with dressing, the dressing slides right off and pools at the bottom of the bowl." The dish is usually made with the hearts, as the inner leaves are sweeter as well as crisper with more crunch. "Romaine should feel crisp and audibly snap when you tear it," Stevens explained. "Washing the lettuce in very cold water helps, but drying well is the real key."

She described a couple of ways to remove dampness from the lettuce. "Take the time to spin it dry in a salad spinner, or blot it gently but thoroughly with clean kitchen towels if you don't have a spinner." Dry them whenever they get wet, which could also be after dunking or rinsing the leaves in cold water to revive them if they start to wilt. Stevens said putting them in the refrigerator for an hour will bring them back, too.

The romaine should be fresh, bought the same day you're making the salad if possible. If you have to get it in advance, you can keep it fresher longer with a simple storage trick, but don't buy it pre-chopped. Marissa Stevens handles the lettuce differently depending on when she's making the Caesar. "If I'm in a hurry and serving the salad right away, I chop the romaine and submerge it in very cold water and swoosh it around to get rid of all the grit. Then I spin it until it's very dry, then assemble and serve." When she's making it ahead of time, she takes another approach: "I hand-tear the leaves so the edges don't brown (the edges oxidize quickly when cut with a knife). Then I wash, dry, cover[,] and refrigerate so the lettuce gets really cold and crisp" before assembly. The lettuce is a better partner for the rich, creamy dressing when it's chilled, thanks to its crispness.

Using your hands to toss the lettuce with the dressing helps keep the leaves from breaking or bruising, and better distributes it throughout. You could leave the crisp inner leaves whole instead of chopping or tearing them, and in fact, it's technically incorrect to eat Caesar salad with a fork. You could also try something different than the norm and grill the romaine first, one of the best greens to use when making a charred salad.