Caesar Salad Nouveau

Did you know that Caesar salad isn't actually Italian? It was actually invented by

Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant and restauranteur, in Tijuana, Mexico. The traditional recipe has a ton of Parmesan cheese, egg yolks, and fishy Worcestershire sauce, but this plant-based version packs all of the same tangy, cheesy flavor. Sometimes it's best to break tradition!

Caesar Salad Nouveau [Vegan]

Ingredients

Salad:

• Romaine, chopped
• Red onion, thinly sliced
• Radish, cut into rounds
• Cucumber, diced
• Fresh mint, chopped
• Fresh dill, chopped
• Fresh Parsley, chopped
• Avocado, diced
• Croutons (recipe below)
• Caesar dressing (recipe below)
• Black pepper

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup raw cashews soaked in water for at least 10 minutes
• 2 small-ish garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon dulse flakes or powder
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup water

Croutons: 

• 5 or 6 pieces of sprouted-grain bread

Preparation

To Make the Dressing:

1. Drain and rinse the cashews and place them in your blender along with the rest of the dressing ingredients (garlic cloves, mustard, nutritional yeast, dulse, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire, sea salt and water) and blend until super creamy, about a minute.
2. If you have a nut allergy or want a lower fat version, use 1/2 cup tofu instead of cashews.

To Make the Croutons:

1. Take 5 or 6 pieces of sprouted grain bread and cut them into good hearty chunks, a little bigger than bite-sized.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat and place the bread chunks in the skillet.
3. Cook for five minutes, flipping them occasionally so they get toasty on all sides.
4. Add some dried and fresh herbs and spices and a little sea salt and continue cooking. You can add whatever herbs and spices you like, but a pretty solid combo is onion and garlic powder, paprika, a little chili powder and some fresh dill.
5. Cook for an additional 10 minutes, stirring frequently so nothing burns. When the croutons are toasted and crisp on the outside and slightly soft on the inside, that’s when you know you hit perfection. Turn off the heat and allow them to cool.
6. A good trick is to save the end pieces of your bread in the freezer and when you’re ready to make croutons, bust them out and use those.

To Assemble the Salad:

1. In a large bowl add the romaine, red onion, radish, cucumber, fresh herbs (just a little of each), avocado and croutons.
2. Add the dressing and then mix until everything is coated in the yummy dressing.
3. Top with fresh black pepper and serve.

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/caesar-salad-nouveau/