A salad recipe? In the FatSteak Club? Yes, yes, my idea of salad in the past might well have been a sprig of parsley on my steak but the Caesar salad really is a treat. Nothing to do with the Roman dictator, it was invented by a chef called Caesar as something for drinkers to enjoy and soak up the beer.

Besides, something involving eggs, garlic and bread can hardly be anything other than delicious! So forget the travesties sold by supermarkets, here I explain how to whip up the perfect classic dressing.

As ever when discovering a classic, I turn to Felicity Cloake who works through every version of classic recipes to derive the perfect version for you to use. I followed hers fairly religiously, check it out here.

Step 1 - Garlic. Bread?

• Crush up the garlic and leave in the oil for at least an hour
  Top Tip: you should have some garlic oil in your kitchen anyway!

• Pop the oven on to 200 C

• Cut the bread up into cubes (roughly 1 cm, or the crouton size you prefer). Leaving the crust on works fine

• Toss the cubes in a little of the garlic oil (quarter to a third) and bake on a tray for around 15 minutes until they are golden

Step 2 - Dressing

• Mash the anchovies in a bowl with a fork so they start to become a paste

• Beat in the egg yolk

• Gradually add the rest of the garlic oil while beating

• Stir in the lemon juice

• You now have the perfect dressing

Step 3 - Assemble the dish

• Tear up the lettuce leaves and toss them in the dressing
  Top Tip: get your hands in there!

• Place in serving bowls

• Add the cheese and toss some more to coat

• Finally, top with the croutons and serve immediately

• Serving recommendation: for added FatSteak Club-ness chuck on some roast chicken and soft boiled eggs!

Classic Caesar salad

• 2 cloves garlic

• 150ml olive oil (make it the good stuff)

• 4 x 1 cm slices of sourdough bread (white or ciabatta also work well)
  Top Tip: This is a great way to use old bread

• 2 cos lettuce

• 2 anchovy fillets
  Top Tip: anchovy oil is great in other recipes, try frying broccoli in it

• 1 egg yolk

• Juice of ½ lemon

• Handful of finely grated parmesan