Paleo Caesar Salad

I have never liked croutons on Caesar salad.  I never saw the point of those overly crunchy, salty, chunks of stale bread.  So, making a Paleo Caesar salad without them was easy:  some homemade bacon bits add a lovely little bit of salty crunch and add alot more flavor than stale bread ever does!  My big challenge with this salad was making a creamy dressing flavorful enough that you don’t miss the typical buttermilk or sour cream and parmesan cheese ingredients (although, if you follow a primal or lacto-Paleo diet, you could still top this salad with some coarse grated parmesan, but it isn’t necessary).  I had a very tough crowd to please in my husband, because Caesar salad is his all-time favorite.  But, I finally got it right.  This is delicious as a side dish or with grilled chicken or shrimp added to make it a dinner salad.  Serves 4-5 as a side salad or 2 as a dinner salad.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup Paleo mayo
• 2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice (or a good bottled Lemon Juice)
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tsp Natural Anchovy Paste
• 1/8 tsp cracked Pepper, to taste
• 1 Small Head Romaine Lettuce (or a large Romaine Heart)
• 4-5 slices of uncured or natural, nitrite-free bacon

1.    Fry bacon in a frying pan (or bake in the oven) until crisp.  Drain on paper towel.  When cool, break into small pieces.
2.    Whisk Paleo mayo, lemon juice, crushed garlic, anchovy paste and pepper together.
3.    Tear or chop romaine lettuce into large bite-size pieces.  Wash and dry (use a Salad Spinner or paper towels).
4.    Toss lettuce with dressing until evenly coated.  Top with bacon and more cracked pepper, to taste.  Enjoy!