The Onkeles Salad

People often ask, "How did The Onkeles Salad come to be?" When I came up with Cooking for The King's pareve version of the delicious classic salad we all love, I could not bring myself to use its familiar name: Caesar. After all, Caesar was the title held by the monarchs of the Roman Empire.

The Caesars used every sort of brutal, violent means to dominate Jews in their own land.

So I decided to rename it Queen in the Kitchen style and call this salad by Caeser's nemesis and noble Jewish convert, Onkeles. Read the famous story of Onkeles to see why....

I think you'll enjoy making, serving this terrific pareve clone recipe for Onkeles Caeser Salad and telling the Onkeles story at your table again and again.

Cooking for The King's ~ Pareve Caesar Onkeles Salad

croutons:

1 stick margarine, melted

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 loaf leftover bread, crusts trimmed, cut in 1/2" cubes

dressing:

1 clove garlic, peeled

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 teaspoon tamari sauce

2 green onions

4 sprigs fresh parsley

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup (pareve) sour cream

salad:

1 large head romaine lettuce, torn into bite sized pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and position rack on top shelf of oven. In a large baking pan, toss bread cubes with melted margarine, garlic powder and curry powder.

2. Bake 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until bread is toasted and golden around the edges. Remove from oven to cool to room temperature.

3. In the work bowl of a food processor place remaining ingredients except lettuce. Process until very smooth.

3. Just before serving, toss lettuce with enough dressing to coat leaves add croutons and toss again.