Broccoli + Kale Caesar


We're still on a salad kick, it's easy for us to put together for dinner and perfect for lunch at work if we know we're planning on going out at night. This is the second vegan Caesar salad that I've posted recently, but I thought the addition of the broccoli added something new to this one. The dressing in this Broccoli + Kale Caesar wasn't nearly as strong as the other either -- you could add nutritional yeast to this  dish or add parmesan cheese if you didn't want to keep it vegan.

Recipe slightly adapted from the Kitchn.

Ingredients:
For the croutons and salad: 
-4 ounces stale bread (about 1/2 medium baguette)
-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
-Kosher salt
-1 large head broccoli (about 1 pound), cut into florets
-1 medium bunch kale (about 12 ounces), stems removed and leaves coarsely torn
-1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
-1/4 cup toasted pepitas
For the dressing:
-1 cup cashews, soaked in 1 cup of boiling water for 2 to 8 hours
-3/4 cup low-sodium vegetable broth or water
-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
-3 cloves garlic
-2 teaspoons capers
-2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
-Kosher salt
-Freshly ground black pepper

Start with making the croutons and roasting the broccoli. Preheat the oven to 400F and cut the bread into 1/2-inch pieces. Place the bread cubes on a foiled lined baking sheet and drizzle with 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through the bake time. Once finished, transfer to a bowl to cool

Add the broccoli florets to the same baking sheet and drizzle with the last 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, toss to combine, and then spread the florets out in an even layer. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes or until the broccoli is starting to turn golden-brown. Season with salt and set aside.

In a small skillet saute the cannellini beans until warmed through, this step is optional, but Dave wanted to heat up the cannellini beans. 

Make the dressing during the last few minutes of the broccoli roasting -- drain the water from the cashews and add the cashews; broth; oil; capers; lemon juice; and garlic cloves to a blender. Blend until smooth adding a few tablespoons of water if the dressing is too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble the salad by combining the kale, roasted broccoli, cannellini beans, and croutons together in a bowl. Top with the dressing and toasted pepitas.


Comments

  1. Thanks! I must get brave and experiment with kale. Cheers

    ReplyDelete

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