Time for a big green salad to brighten up our January tables and lighten up our meals. Not just any boring salad though, this green beauty is fit for a Caesar… Yes, you’ve guessed it – today’s recipe is my vegan take on a classic: Caesar salad. This puppy has bags of flavour despite being completely free of any animal products.
Crispy cos lettuce gets tossed in an obscenely creamy, tangy and cheesy dressing – this acts as the salad’s base, which gets punctuated by crispy sourdough croutons, smoky almond bacon and finally sour pomegranate arils, which add a bit of colour as well as tiny pops of sweet and sour flavour. The key to this salad is the dressing, which (apart from sticking a head of garlic into a hot oven) only requires throwing all the ingredients in a blender. Next you can choose between homemade croutons or, if you are not keen on bread or follow a gluten-free diet, smoky almond bacon. If you have some more time on your hands make both, but either of these will add another flavour and texture dimension to this crowd pleaser.
45 g / 1/3 cup raw cashews OR sunflower seeds OR silken tofu 1 head of garlic 1 tsp olive oil (optional) 1½ tsp wholegrain mustard* 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 1 tbsp capers in salty brine + 1 tbsp brine 2 tbsp nutritional yeast 120 ml / ½ cup unsweetened soy or almond milk generous pinch of dried thyme ¼ tsp sea salt, to taste ½ tsp maple syrup or sugar black pepper, to taste
ALMOND BACON
½ tsp tomato concentrate 1 tsp olive oil 1½ tsp maple syrup or sugar 30 ml / 2 tbsp all purpose soy sauce or tamari (if GF) ¼ tsp liquid smoke (or ½ tsp smoked sweet paprika) 45 g / ½ cup almond flakes
CROUTONS (optional)
2 slices stale sourdough 1 tbsp olive oil fine sea salt, to taste
