Caesar Salad
Traditional caesar dressing calls for eggs, anchovies, olive oil and parmesan. 😖 My version is oil-free, fish-free, dairy-free and egg-free, but I swear it is just as tasty, perhaps even better!
I have made many versions of this before I figured out this one. I used Nori (dried seaweed but too seaweedy!), capers (eh!), added oil (unnecessary!) always trying to get that caesary essence. I stumbled upon kombu, which is a dried sea kelp. It is quite delicious and loaded with health benefits. This article HERE will give you the nutritional lowdown should you choose to read it 🧐. Cashew Cream ( 👈🏼 click on it, my last post) and kombu are the magic ingredients to this dressing.
For the salad pictured above:
- Spray a cast iron pan with cooking spray and sauté 1/3 cup canned and rinsed chickpeas. I seasoned with a few shakes of curry powder and salt. Shake beans around in the pan until lightly brown, then take off heat.
- Meanwhile, “bake” a sweet potato in your microwave for about 5 minutes: Scrub it, dry it and poke a few holes in it first. I used about half a potato in my salad.
- Allow potato to cool slightly and cube it.
- Slice up about 1/3 of a pepper.
- Fill a bowl with greens (mine are spinach and arugula).
- Throw on beans, potato, pepper and anything else like tomato, pepitas. I also tossed on some cubed focaccia.
- Drizzle with your showstopper Vegan Caesar Salad dressing.
- EAT!
- 3/4 Cup Cashew cream* *see "Cashew Cream" post or Recipe Notes below
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 piece Kombu about 8" x 2" strip
- 2 Tbsp Lemon juice
- 1 Tsp Vegan worcestershire
- 1 Tbsp Nutritional yeast
- 2 Tsp Tamari or low sodium soy sauce
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Blend all ingredients in a mini food processor or blender until well combined.
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Add salt/pepper to taste ( I didn't as the kombu and tamari were salty enough)
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Store in glass jar in refrigerator for up to a week.
Kombu is dried sea kelp and can be found at Whole Foods, Wegman’s and most Asian markets. You can even buy on Amazon for around $4!
If you don’t have cashew cream, boil 1/2 cup raw cashews for 2o minutes and blend in a high speed blender with about 1/3 cup water.
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