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Cauliflower Caesar Salad with Crispy Broad Beans and Tahini Dressing

by Sophie Gordon from The Whole Vegetable

This vegan Caesar salad is packed with cauliflower and uses soy and paprika to deliver the salty, umami flavours synonymous with the original but without the use of anchovy.

From the book

Sophie Gordon

Introduction

Inspired by a trip to California, where I discovered a deconstructed take on Caesar salad, I’ve created my own version for the spring months. It’s a hearty salad with a subtle hint of paprika that lifts it out of the ordinary.

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Ingredients

For the salad:
1 small/medium cauliflower, in florets, stalks included
1–2 tsp smoked paprika
3–4 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
4 tsp dried oregano
3 heaped tbsp nutritional yeast
3–4 slices of stale bread, torn into small chunks
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
salt and pepper
about 200g cooked chickpeas, rinsed
1 medium lettuce (butter, romaine, cos, iceberg)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 stalks of celery, leaves included, thinly sliced
2 tbsp capers, drained
For the crispy broad beans:
1 tbsp coconut oil
180g podded broad beans (inner skins removed)
1 clove of garlic, crushed
salt and pepper
For the tahini dressing:
2 heaped tbsp tahini
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
1 lemon, juice and zest
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp paprika
2 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper

Method

Preheat your oven to 190°C fan. Put the cauliflower, paprika, soy sauce or tamari, oregano and nutritional yeast into a bowl and mix well to coat the florets. Roast for about 20 minutes, until tender and slightly crispy.

To make croutons, toss the torn bread with the olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. They only need about 10 minutes in the oven, so you can put them in while the cauliflower is cooking.

To make the rest of the salad, put the drained chickpeas, lettuce, onion, celery and capers into a bowl. Set aside while you make the dressing and crispy broad beans.

For the broad beans, heat the coconut oil on a low heat. Add the broad beans, garlic and some salt and pepper. Stir to prevent them from burning and fry until the beans become a more vibrant colour with some slight browning. The outer part may start to shrivel slightly – this is normal.

For the dressing, whisk or blend together the tahini, garlic, nutritional yeast, soy or tamari, lemon juice and zest, mustard, paprika and oregano. Season with salt and pepper. Add a little water if you want the dressing runnier.

To assemble the salad, add the roasted cauliflower to the bowl of chickpeas. Add half the croutons and half the broad beans. Pour in half the dressing and mix slowly, coating the salad. To serve, sprinkle over the rest of the broad beans and croutons and drizzle with the dressing. You can plate separately or serve in one big bowl.

Waste tips: These croutons are a great way to use up stale bread. They are ideal for salads, with roasted veggies, or even ground to garlicky breadcrumbs that’ll keep in the fridge for a few days. Broad beans do require a bit of effort if they are in their skins. The outer shells can be placed in your stock box, but have a slightly bitter taste, so be sure to have enough other ‘scraps’ in there before making a stock. As an alternative, you can use dried split broad beans. Parboil them first and then roast using the same method.

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From the book: The Whole Vegetable

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