Another Vegan Caesar

Jul 04, 2022

Not sure if the world needs another vegan caesar dressing, but here it is. It’s lusciously creamy, salty, earthy, garlicky, and bright from lemon. I love pairing this dressing with romaine and crunchy vegetables, in this case celery and radish. Elevate your salad with homemade crispy breadcrumbs!

This recipe makes about 1 cup of dressing so be sure to store leftovers in the fridge.

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Vegan Caesar
Ingredients
Caesar Dressing
  • 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
  • 1-2 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp capers
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Breadcrumbs
  • a couple slices of stale sourdough bread
  • olive oil
  • sea salt to taste
Salad
  • little gem lettuce or romaine hearts
  • celery, sliced
  • radishes, thinly sliced
Instructions
Caesar dressing

  1. Combine all of the ingredients in a high speed blender. Blend until creamy. Season with pepper to taste.

Breadcrumbs

  1. Blend bread in a high speed blender until fine but not powdery.

  2. Coat the breadcrumbs in olive oil. In a skillet over medium high heat, toast the breadcrumbs until golden and crispy. Season with salt.

Assembly

  1. Just before serving, toss dressing with lettuce, radishes, and celery. Crack more black pepper and top with bread crumbs.

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Tomato and Dill Beans

Apr 24, 2020

I’ve always wanted to cook more dry beans in my kitchen. I admire them because they’re a plant-based protein and inexpensive.  It wasn’t until this devastating disaster, Covid19, that I had very good reason to, they’re shelf stable.

Before the crisis I became obsessed with gigante beans in tomato sauce. I would buy this prepared dish from a local shop, Sahadi’s or a Greek restaurant, Avlee. This mediterranean dish inspired my recipe. Unfortunately, sourcing dried gigante beans proved to be difficult so I settled on cannellini, and they are just as delicious.

What I love about this recipe is it uses minimal ingredients and has lots of flavour. You will be amazed to how delicious bean broth can be when seasoned properly.  Make sure you keep the leftover bean broth. I use it to cook my rice and it can also be a great base to a soup.

I love to serve these beans with roasted potatoes and a garlicky dressed salad. These beans would also be fantastic with rice! You can watch my how-to video for this recipe on my instagram highlights.

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Tomato and Dill Beans
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
  • 1 cup dry cannellini beans, soaked overnight
  • 1 large yellow onion, halved
  • 1 head of garlic, two cloves removed and set aside, and remainder halved crosswise
  • 10 oz (or close to) cherry or grape tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/4 cup chopped dill
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta
Instructions

  1. Drain the beans and add to a large pot. Cover the beans with 4 inches of water and generously salt (a little less than pasta water). Add half the garlic and half the onion. Bring to a simmer and cook until beans are soft and creamy but not falling apart, about 40-50 minutes.

  2. While beans are simmering prep the remaining ingredients. Slice the onion, finely chop the garlic, and halve the tomatoes.

  3. Once beans are cooked, strain the broth from the beans. Measure out 1 cup of broth (you may keep remaining broth for another use). Discard cooked onion and garlic from beans and set beans aside.

  4. Give the pot a quick clean and add 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the sliced onion and chopped garlic and cook until onion begins to brown. Add the tomatoes and cook until they begin to release their liquid and collapse. Add the 1 cup of the bean broth and bring to a simmer, simmering for 5 minutes. Add the beans and cook for a remaining 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour beans into a bowl and top with dill and feta.

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A Greek Salad

Aug 06, 2019

I’m not reinventing the wheel with this recipe, it’s my spin on a Greek salad. Nonetheless, I’ve been making it non-stop and it’s too good not to share. It takes advantage of summers gorgeous ripe tomatoes and crisp cucumbers. Continue reading →

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Cheesy Vegan Lasagna with Squash and Kale

Nov 08, 2018

I was close to not sharing this recipe because I had such a hard time taking a decent photo. Well lets just say that sometimes food taste better than it looks, and in this case it’s very true. It would be a shame not to share this plant based lasagna because it’s pretty freaking delicious. Creamy butternut squash, a velvety cashew based béchamel sauce, and garlicky kale makes for the ultimate comfort food that’s nourishing and seasonal. Continue reading →

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