If you want to throw together a BEAUTIFUL salad that’s also crazy easy and yummy, THIS is the one. I like to show off at dinner parties & BBQs with this one. Who doesn’t love a good Caesar salad? And it’s honestly very visually striking because of the dark/light contrasts of the dark kale and croutons against the chickpeas & the creamy dressing. It truly feels and looks “fancy”. This one is always a bestseller and APPEARS to require a lot of thought and effort. (The hardest part is finding black garlic for the dressing, but if you use regular garlic, I promise no one will know!) For the croutons, I just cut Ezekiel bread or Dave’s Killer Good Seed bread into squares, toss them in drizzle of olive oil along with some garlic powder, salt, pepper and parsley and then toast them on a cookie sheet in the oven for 10 minutes at 350F. After that it’s just a bowl and a blender! (When I plate this, I always add extra ground pepper on top of the salad, which goes along with a classic Caesar salad as well as the “black & white” theme. It looks great against the cheese!)
As always, post comments and photos!
Ingredients-
For the salad:
• 1 package or bunch of baby kale
• 1 can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese or shredded almond cheese
• Ezekiel bread (or DKB) croutons
• 1 tsp each sea salt & black pepper
• 2-3 tsp olive oil
For the dressing:
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp black garlic
• 2 anchovies, mashed or 2 tsp anchovy paste
• 2 tsp Worcestershire
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp vegan or dairy free grated parmesan (Follow Your Heart or Go Veggie)
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 3 tbsp Olive Oil
Directions- 1. In a blender combine all of the dressing ingredients, adding the oil LAST. As you slowly add the oil to the mixture it should emulsify completely so that there is no separation in the dressing. 2. In a large bowl, toss the baby kale, shaved or shredded cheese, chick peas, salt, pepper, and garlic powder along with a drizzle of olive oil. Then top with croutons. 3. Plate each salad individually, topping with extra croutons, ground black pepper and additional shaved/shredded cheese along with the desired amount of dressing. (You can also toss the whole salad with the dressing but keep in mind that if you don’t eat it right away it can tend to become wilted. I like to drizzle the dressing along the outer edges of the salad bowl and then gently fold the salad around the bowl with gloved hands....just a restaurant kitchen tip!)
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