Vegan Caesar Salad with Roasted Chickpea Croutons

This Vegan Caesar Salad with Roasted Chickpea Croutons is a real crowd pleaser and the recipe can easily be doubled if you are feeding a larger crowd. It goes particularly well as a side dish at a BBQ.

Ingredients

4 heads of little gem lettuce

1 small bunch of young kale – stripped from the stems

Small bunch of chives finely chopped

For the croutons –

1 can of chickpeas – drained

1 teaspoon olive oil

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

For the ‘parmesan cheese’ –

100 grams raw cashews

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

For the dressing –

½ cup vegan mayonnaise

1 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 clove of garlic crushed

½ tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce

½ tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon capers

A squeeze of lemon juice

Sea salt and black pepper

Serves: SERVES 4-6

Method

Blend the dressing ingredients except the lemon juice in a high-speed blender until smooth. Taste and add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a food processor, blend the ‘parmesan cheese’ ingredients until you have a fine meal consistency.

To make the chickpea croutons pre-heat your oven to 200°C. Mix all the ingredients together and tip onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes, giving them a shake half way through. They will crisp up as they cool. Set aside.

Chop the lettuce into 5cm pieces and shred the kale finely. Place in a large serving bowl and toss with the dressing and ‘parmesan cheese’ until everything is well coated. Scatter over the chickpeas and chives.