Vegetarian Caesar Salad

Vegetarian Caesar Salad with crispy, cheesy, garlic croutons, and a creamy dressing without the anchovies, this salad is great as a side or as a main dish

Course Salad

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings

Calories 398kcal

Author Michelle Alston

Ingredients

For the croutons

5 thick slices of sourdough bread (200g) crusts removed then cut into cubes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic thinly sliced
¼ cup vegetarian parmesan (25g) finely grated
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp cracked black pepper

For the dressing

10 capers finely chopped
1 cloves of garlic minced
1 scant tbsp Dijon mustard
1 egg yolk I used the yolk of one large egg.
¼ cup vegetarian parmesan (25g)
½ tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 ½ tbsp mayonnaise
¼ cup mild/light olive oil (50ml)
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp cracked black pepper

For the salad

1 head of romaine lettuce
4 large eggs
Vegetarian parmesan and cracked black pepper for serving.

Instructions

To Make the Croutons

Preheat the oven to 180C/ 356F
Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a pan. Add the sliced garlic to the oil and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes. Do not let the garlic brown.
Remove the garlic from the oil.
Put the bread cubes into a large mixing bowl. Carefully pour the oil over the bread and mix with a large spoon.
Add the grated vegetarian parmesan, sea salt and black pepper to the bread then mix everything together.
Transfer the bread to a lined baking tray then bake for 20 minutes turning once halfway through cooking.
Once golden remove from the oven and leave to cool.

To Make the Dressing

Add the egg yolk, Dijon mustard, grated cheese, garlic and chopped capers in a large mixing bowl. Using a whisk, whisk everything until you have a paste.
Now add the lemon juice, white wine vinegar, and mayonnaise and again whisk it all together. You should have a thick smooth sauce now.
Finally, very slowly whisk in the oil. This should give you a silky-smooth dressing. Season now with salt and black pepper.

To Make the Salad

Boil the eggs to your liking. For this salad, I prefer them hard-boiled. Once cooled peel the eggs then cut them in half lengthways.
Tear the romaine lettuce leaves into large pieces then add them to a large serving dish.
Add the croutons to the lettuce then toss well.
Top the lettuce with the eggs then add some shaved vegetarian parmesan to the salad.
I like to serve the dressing on the side for this so everyone can add as much or as little as they like.

Notes

Nutritional Information - is approximate and is calculated using an online tool. Eggs, croutons and dressing are included. I allow one egg per person if I serve this as a side salad. I add more eggs if serving as a main dish. It does not include any parmesan added to the finished salad.
Dressing - you may have dressing leftover. This depends on how much you like to use in your salad. I tend to use less so always have some leftover. Because of the raw egg yolk in the dressing I would only keep any leftover dressing in the fridge for one day. When you are ready to use it take it out of the fridge, leave it sit for qbout 10 minutes then give it a good shake or whisk it again. Because of the raw egg yolk, this dressing is not suitable for young children, the elderly, pregnant or nursing women or immune-compromised individuals. I always use very fresh organic pasteurised eggs to make this dressing. You can leave the egg out if you wish but there may be a little change in flavour.
Croutons - I tend to add all the croutons to this salad but if you do have any leftover they will keep in an airtight container for up to a week. Add them to salads or soups. I used sourdough bread to make these however any thickly sliced bread will work well. If you aren't too keen on garlic you can omit that part.
Lettuce - traditionally romaine lettuce is used for Caesar salad adn I tend to stick with that. It reall is the best lettuce for the job.
Can I make this Gluten-Free? Yes, you can use your favourite gluten-free bread to make the croutons or you can buy gluten-free croutons.
Can I make this Vegan? I haven't tried to make a vegan version of this yet.

Nutrition