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Canlis Restaurant boasts one of the best green salad recipes you will ever enjoy. Award winning over the years and located in Seattle, Washington, this is a sure guest pleaser. Do you agree with food critics? Try for yourself and see what you think.

SERVES:  4 to 6

INGREDIENTS

1 large head Romaine hearts, cut into 1″ pieces

8 cherry tomatoes cut in half

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion

3/4 cup freshly grated Romano cheese

1/2 cup very well done chopped bacon

1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh mint*

1 tablespoon thinly sliced oregano leaves

1/2 cup croutons*

kosher salt and fresh ground tellicherry black pepper to taste

Dressing

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon minced garlic

1 coddled egg*

* NOTES BY MARK CANLIS

There are some important preparation steps to make this the perfect salad.

Wash individual leaves in warm water. Drain and dry in colander. Then chill in refrigerator. Don’t ever, ever toss a Canlis Salad with warm or wet leaves!

Mint – you can’t use too much mint (experiment yourself).

Coddled Egg – Pour boiling water into a cup and put a whole egg (in the shell) into the hot water . Let sit for 1 minute. You may substitute with pasteurized egg mixture (found in the dairy section in cartons).

Croutons – Canlis makes their our own croutons. They use butter and Italian seasoning. You can also make your own. Just don’t use packaged crouttons from the store.

DIRECTIONS

To make the dressing, put the salt and pepper, lemon juice, oil, and coddled egg in a bowl and whip vigorously. Reserve.

To a salad bowl, add the prepared romaine, green onion, cheese, bacon, oregano, and mint.

Pour dressing over salad and toss thoroughly.

Split the salad onto four chilled plates and arrange croutons, a sprinkle of Romano cheese and halved cherry tomatoes (you can also use vine fresh tomatoes that have had the skins removed by dipping in boiling water until the skin starts to peel) on the salad to finish the presentation.

 

MARK CANLIS SHARES SECRETS TO MAKING THE ULTIMATE CANLIS SALAD

Follow these tips from Mark to recreate the Canlis Salad  served in the restaurant.

The Canlis salad recipe was my grandfather’s – a man who learned to cook from his Greek and Lebanese mother. There are a few hints that he insisted on when making the salad, and they always seem to make the difference when we’re making it in the home or at the restaurant.

First, prepare the bowl. If you have one, a wooden bowl is best. You’ll want to take a clove or two of garlic and a bit of olive oil and season the bowl by rubbing the two all over the bowl.

Then, focus on the lettuce. It’s best if you can buy the lettuce whole, and a day before cut off the bottom of the stalk about an inch up from the bottom. You’ll immediately see some white foam. This is very bitter, and draining it out of the lettuce will make it sweeter. Just wash it and prop it up over paper towels in the refrigerator over night. The next day it will be clean, sweet and ready to cut into 1 inch squares. Use a sharp knife. Dull knives bruise the leaves.

Bacon? yes. Bacon bits? NO. The salad needs the fat from real bacon to balance the acidity of the lemon juice. Don’t over cook it (that removes the fat). It should be done, but still tender and soft.

Finally, the dressing. Don’t leave out the egg—it’s essential as an emulsifier for the lemon juice and the olive oil. Only use fresh lemon juice!  (The pre-packaged stuff won’t due.) When making the dressing, ere on the tart side. It’s better to have it too tart than too oily. When you taste it (and you should several times) it should taste pretty tangy and tart.

Oh and lastly, only use Romano cheese – Parmesan, though often used as a substitute in other dishes, will ruin the dish. It’s best to have shredded romano, not grated or crumbled, as this dries out the moisture and the character of the cheese.”

 

Gourmet Review Croutons

By no means does this measure up to Canlis croutons, but here is my personal recipe. I cut up a baguette of a  loaf of french bread into squares for the croutons. I keep a container of olive oil steeped with fresh garlic in my kitchen at all times. For the croutons, I pour a little of the olive oil in a frying pan and lightly cook the croutons until just golden brown. These can be prepared the day before and kept in a ziplock bag if pressed for time. Please do not use store bought croutons. It makes a difference in the salad. Mine don’t measure up to those at Canlis, but it a substitute.

 

BLOG NOTES

Every once in awhile I simply have to prepare this salad for friends and family. So, I thought since the salad is worth a place of honor in my family, that I would publish the recipe again on the blog. It takes some time for preparation, but it is worth it. Now enjoy!

 
 
– The Gourmet Review
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