Friday 27 September 2013

Wowee! Vegan Caeser Salad with Baked Tempeh

     I super-duper love caser salad...seriously..love. However, I don't love weird-fake-creamy-weirdness, you know, the standard in caeser salad at many restaurants.

    Caeser salad is a staple dinner at our house, but when I/we cut out pretty much all the main ingredients that a traditional caser salad is made of, we were at a loss. I was lucky enough to have my girlfriend Julia (she's awesome, she's a vegan and she loves good food), let me in on the loveliness of tahini as a creamy substitute in caeser dressing! The tempeh in this salad makes it a really balanced and delicious meal. Let me know if you love it!

Ingredients

8 oz kale or baby spinach (1-2 bunches or 1 small container I use Organic Girl)

The Dressing
5 T extra virgin olive oil
4 T Tahini
1 lemon juiced (best to use a lemon press, if not maybe use 2 lemons)
1 T Gluten-free Tamari
2-3 cloves garlic pressed (this is really dependant on how much you love garlic)
3 T nutritional yeast
*black pepper to taste

I just throw all the ingredients into my stand mixer and whisk. So whisk away!

Once the dressing is whisked and creamy toss it over your greens

Tempeh
I find it best to marinate tempeh, and usually do so for about 4-6 hours prior to baking.
I marinate my tempeh in sesame oil and gluten-free tamari (and a bit of white wine or rice wine vinegar)

These measurements are approximate because for this, I don't measure:
1/2 C Sesame oil
1-2 T Tamari
1 T white wine or rice wine vinegar
Basically you want to just cover the tempeh.

Cut your tempeh into strips that are about a 1/4 of an inch thick, cover in marinade and stick it in the fridge. I usually turn the tempeh after about 3 hours to help it soak up the marinade.

Once you have marinaded the tempeh, transfer it to a baking sheet and bake it at about 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, turning it halfway through.

* if you like your tempeh a bit crispy you can always leave it in longer/shorter if you like it chewy.

Top your caeser with your tempeh, sprinkle with a little extra nutritional yeast and there ya go!

Enjoy your twigs!



2 comments:

  1. Not sure what Tempeh is - but the ingredients sound delicious - will try it using Spinach!

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  2. It definitely is delicious!! Also, tempeh is fermented soy and it's yummy!

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