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Plant-Based Twist To Caesar Salad. It’s Epic!
Welcome my friends! I decided to share one very simple recipe with you but there is something very special that make all the flavours dance together when combined.
I love eating salads and one of the popular salads out there is a Caesar Salad, but I had to put a twist to it and make a vegan Caesar Salad. I also decided to ditch readymade croutons, which are usually deep-fried, and make my own with almost no oil. No kidding!
Dressing For Your Vegan Caesar Salad That Will Smack You In The Face With Flavour
The base for this salad is of course iceberg lettuce but what makes it really extraordinary is the dressing. It’s super creamy and bursting with flavours. The creaminess comes from cashews and coconut cream. Cashews are very good in sauces and dressings because of their creaminess, but they need a bit more time to “release” the creaminess. They have something I call ‘sandiness’ in them, so I always find that I need to blend a bit longer for that sandiness to go away. The easiest way to know if the sandiness is still there or cashews need more blending is to take just a bit of the sauce in between your fingers and rub. If the cashews need to be blended for longer, you will feel the this sandy structure.
I teach these kind of tricks in my online cooking classes, so if you are ready to amp up your cooking skills, check out the variety of the classes and let’s cook together.
Besides the cashews and coconut, I used mustard, garlic and shallots for a boost in flavour. The original Caesar Salad is usually sprinkled with parmesan, but since we are going with the vegan version of Caesar Salad, chose to use savoury yeast in the dressing for the cheesy flavour. And finally, wanted to have that dance of sour and sweet, so my recipe for the dressing calls for apple cider vinegar and maple syrup!
That’s it! I told you it will be easy. Jump to the recipe for the full list of ingredients.
Recipe!
Ingredients
For the Croutons:
- A generous splash of Olive Oil
- A pinch of Salt
- 3 slices Sourdough Bread, cut into cubes
For Assembling:
- 1 large Iceberg Lettuce, roughly chopped
- 1 Tbsp #EASEANDFLOW
For the Dressing:
- ½ cup Cashews
- 1 Tbsp Mustard
- 2-3 Tbsp Savoury Yeast
- 1 Garlic Clove, smashed
- 2 Eschalots or 1 Shallot
- 200 ml Coconut Cream
- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- A splash of Water
- A pinch of Salt
- A pinch of Black Pepper
Method
To prepare the croutons:
- Pour the oil in a pan, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and add the bread cubes.
- Give it a stir to coat the cubes with the oil and leave to fry on medium-high heat.
- Stir from time to time to avoid burning.
To prepare the dressing:
- Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
To serve:
- Drizzle the iceberg lettuce with the dressing, top with the croutons and serve!
Serves: 1-2
Prep time: 10 mins
Freezer-friendly: No
C, GF, RSF, DF, VEG, V
How did you like my twist to Caesar Salad? Did you use any extra toppings? If you are into bacon, feel free to top your salad with bacon, but if you want to keep your Caesar Salad vegan, check out my coconut bacon. It will blow you away!
Don’t be afraid to experiment and share your wholefood stories on my YouTube channel.
With love from my kitchen to yours,
Chef Cynthia Louise xx