Finally! The flowers are all in bloom and the markets are bursting with greens. I feel like I can switch from soups to salads. As for salads, most of the time my go-to salad is caesar salad. If I’m out and it’s on the menu, I will order it (sans the anchovies). I don’t know why—maybe it’s the crunchy lettuce or the croutons or just the simplicity of it. I just love it!

Now, I have finally found one the I can easily make at home. Not only is it easy but my entire family likes it just as much as I do. It’s also vegan but sometimes we add hard-boiled eggs to it. Other toppings that I like to add are avocado, crispy roasted kale leaves or tomatoes. It is a salad after all, which you can experiment with and even go a little crazy by adding something completely untraditional!

Recipe: Vegan Caesar Salad with Roasted Chickpeas

Adapted from Oh She Glows

Ingredients

Roasted chickpeas:

• 25 oz. can of chickpeas
• ½ tsp. sea salt
• ½ tsp. smoked paprika
• 1T olive oil
• ½ tsp. garlic

Dressing:

• ½ c raw cashews soaked preferably overnight (see recipe below for alternative ways to soak)
• ¼ c water
• 2T extra virgin olive oil
• Juice from ½ lemon
• ½ T Dijon mustard
• 1 large garlic clove
• ½ T worchester sauce
• 2 tsp capers
• ½ tsp sea salt

Salad:

• 1 medium bunch of lacinato kale
• 2 heads of romaine lettuce
• Sesame seed topping
• ¼ c raw cashews
• 1T raw sesame seeds
• 1T extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp sea salt

Method

Roasted chickpeas:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Drain and thoroughly rinse the chickpeas place them on a towel let them dry or roll simply towel dry them with the towel.
3. In a small bowl mix together all of the ingredients for the roasted chickpeas. Make sure the chickpeas are thoroughly coated.
4. Roast the seasoned chickpeas in a baking sheet for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, move them around and continue roasting them for 15 more minutes.
5. When they are finished roasting, set aside. They will get a little more crunchy as they cool.

Dressing:

1. Soak the ½ cup of cashews for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. If you are like me and never remember to soak the cashews the night before you can boil them for 15 minutes and let soak. I learned this from Post Punk Kitchen.
2. Add all of the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend on high until the dressing is a smooth consistency. If it’s too thick you can add a little more water. Season with more salt if needed or a little more garlic.

Lettuce:

1. Remove the stems from the kale.
2. Chop the kale and romaine into bite size pieces. Add to a salad spinner and thoroughly wash, rinse and spin dry. Don’t have a salad spinner, add to a bowl thoroughly wash, rinse and lay flat on a clean dish towel.
3. The lettuce doesn’t have to be completely dry just not soaking.

Sesame seed topping:

1. add the cashews to a food processor and process until finely chopped.
2. add in the rest of the ingredients and pulse until all of the ingredients are mixed together.

In a large bowl, add the lettuce, drizzle the dressing onto the lettuce and mix until the lettuce is thoroughly coated with the dressing. Add the chickpeas and the sesame seed topping to the top (leaving a little on the side to add to the top of the individual salads). If you are adding any other toppings like hardboiled eggs or avocado you can add it to the salad or serve it on the side for the guests to add to the top of their salad.

• Photography: Tami Seymour