Vegan Kale Caesar Salad w/ Crispy Garlic Chickpeas

When I was young, I used to love Caesar salad. It was so creamy and garlicky and it made leafy greens taste good. Let’s not forget how tasty those crunchy croutons are on top… honestly, such a great combination. Caesar salad is truly the comfort food of salads, and I absolutely adored it, until I found out what was actually in Caesar salad dressing. Raw egg yolks and anchovy paste? Gross. This new information completely ruined Caesar salads for me. I couldn’t eat store-bought dressings, my mom’s Caesar salads tasted too fishy, and at restaurants I opted for balsamic dressing instead of my once-favourite creamy dressing.

Looking back, those days were sad, sad times. Secretly, I missed those guilt-free years of eating copious amounts of Caesar salad at dinner.

Since then, I knew that it was possible to veganize and thus healthify this classic Western favourite. I remember trying a vegan dressing from Trader Joe’s the last time I was in the States and the ingredients listed tahini as the main ingredient. I always used tahini for my homemade hummus, and I knew it would make a killer vegan creamy dressing.

If you’ve never tried tahini, you’re seriously missing out. It’s a delightfully light and nutty sesame paste that blends seamlessly into any savoury/creamy recipe. You can’t actually taste any nuttyness when you mix tahini with lots of lemon juice, salt and pepper, garlic, and water to thin it out. It is for this reason that tahini is my ultimate secret weapon for vegan creamy dressings.

Some health benefits of tahini include:

• Excellent source of calcium
• High in vitamins E and B
• Helps to promote healthy cell growth
• Has 20% complete protein
• High alkaline mineral content (easy digestion)
• Rich in minerals such as phosphorus, lecithin, magnesium, potassium and iron
• Great source of healthy fats

I opted for kale instead of butter lettuce for the salad, because I love kale and it’s packed with more vitamins and nutrients than plain old lettuce! Also, instead of croutons, this recipe has crispy garlicky chickpeas that are full of protein and just as tasty (if not tastier) than croutons. Win!

Caution: This Caesar salad is super garlicky and will leave you smelling like garlic for the rest of the night. Is it still completely worth it? Yes, yes it is. 

Vegan Kale Caesar w/ Crispy Chickpeas

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Serves: 4 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients

For the chickpeas:
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (or more, to taste)
Salt + pepper (to taste)
2 cloves garlic, crushed

For the dressing:
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup water (to thin out dressing)
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
4-5 cloves garlic
Dash of pepper (to taste)
Dash of nutritional yeast (optional)

Vegan Kale Caesar Salad w/ Crispy Garlic Chickpeas was last modified: January 27th, 2018 by themindfulstrawberry

Instructions

For the chickpeas:

1. Preheat oven to 400 Degrees F.
2. Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas, and lay onto sheets of paper towels to dry.
3. Once completely dry, place chickpeas on a lined baking sheet.
4. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, plus salt and pepper to taste.
5. Mix well on baking sheet before placing into the oven for 20 minutes.
6. Halfway through baking, give chickpeas a mix.
7. After 20 minutes, check if chickpeas are crispy enough. (Note: I took mine out, added 2 cloves of crushed garlic and mixed that around, and put them back in the oven for 10 more minutes, stirring and checking halfway through).
8. Once you get them to desired crispiness, remove from oven and allow to cool.

For the dressing:

1. Using a food processor, blend together tahini, water, garlic, salt and pepper, and lemon juice to desired consistency. Note: Can also whisk together if you do not have a mixer/food processor, but definitely crush the garlic or finely mince before adding to dressing. Also add garlic powder to taste.
2. Drizzle dressing onto kale leaves, mix well and top with chickpeas, salt and pepper, and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast (vegan parmesan substitute). Enjoy!

Vegan Kale Caesar Salad w/ Crispy Garlic Chickpeas was last modified: January 27th, 2018 by themindfulstrawberry