Caesar Salad Makeover

Caesar salad is such a perfected dish that it is a little daunting to mess with it.  Well, fear, we look you in the face and say move over, because we are going to do it anyway...

This version of Caesar salad is filling, satisfying and has a hit of protein making it a meal in itself, no toppings needed.  It is also easy to make, stores well in the fridge or freezer (make extra!) and contains some really "proud" ingredients.  The garlic is a great cold buster, quality miso shares the magic of probiotics and with the maple syrup or honey combines to replace the flavour of anchovies, apple cider vinegar assists in digestion and soaked nuts add enzymes and protein.

In fact, did you know that when you soak nuts, the protein content can as much as double?  A nut is a seed (how do you grow an almond tree - plant an almond) and it contains all of the capability to grow an entire tree.  When you soak the nut, the messages to grow a tree begin and transformation begins.  Activated in that nut is not only amino acids that give you your protein, but also a cascade of enzymes that are ready to grow a tree.  Quite a miracle really.

Caesar Salad Dressing

1/2 a head of garlic, crush and remove skins, chop if your blender won't grind them up

1/3 cup soaked almonds or cashews or a mixture of the two (soaking overnight or for a minimum of 2 hours), drained and rinsed to remove soaking liquid.  If you prefer an thinner dressing, reduce nuts to 1/4 cup.

2 tsp miso paste

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 lemon squeezed (or just add a TBSP more of apple cider vinegar if you don't have a lemon)

2 TBSP maple syrup or honey

1 tsp sea salt (try pink Himalayan)

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (pink and green peppercorns are also tasty)

3/4 cup olive oil

Put everything in your blender and blend for 1-2 minutes depending on the power of your blender.  If you don't have a high speed blender, your nuts should still combine well enough as they are softened from soaking.  As an alternative, you can use 2 TBSP's of nut butter (raw - the roasted kind will make the dressing taste like nut butter).  Once blended, taste and adjust the balance between salt, pepper, vinegar and sweetness to your liking, blend again and refrigerate (or enjoy right away).

Enjoy this as a "traditional" caesar salad tossed with romaine lettuce and topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese and your version of croutons or massage it into uncooked kale and red onions, toss a raw broccoli and cauliflower salad, as a dip for raw vegetables or even a spread on a sandwich.  You could also substitute most of the garlic with something like dill or chipotle and make something entirely new…Enjoy!

Posted by Amy Buckman, Amaranth Whole Foods Market