KALE CAESAR SALAD

This kale caesar salad really hit a home run at ours. I softened the kale with a splash of olive oil and a good massaging of the leaves (like I always do). I then sautéed the red onion with balsamic vinegar and roasted and peeled the red bell peppers. To add a protein boost, I used the usual suspect in vegetarian salads i.e. chickpeas.

Finally, on to the most important part of any salad.. the dressing. I take my salad dressings really seriously and making them usually takes a lot of tasting and adjusting the seasoning until I get THE perfect result. But I must say, the effort is well worth it.

I should probably do a separate post about all my favourite dressings but this caesar dressing is definitely on that list. Made with soaked cashews, wholegrain mustard, capers, garlic, lemon juice and a pinch of salt, it’s a always a winner. Below you can see roughly the amounts of each ingredient I used. BUT I strongly encourage you to taste the dressing while making it and adjust the seasoning to your taste. That’s how you make it perfect to your taste buds and the mood of the day too.

I hope you enjoy this salad AND the dressing too. xx

KALE CAESAR SALAD

 

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

Author: Antidote Kitchen

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 100g Kale
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 small red onion
• ½ cucumber
• 1 avocado
• 1 x 400g can of chickpeas
• Sea salt and black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Handful of cashews
• 1 tbsp Wholegrain mustard
• 1 tbsp capers
• ½ lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• A pinch of smoked paprika (optional)

Instructions

1. Put the cashews to soak in warm water
2. Preheat oven to 220 ℃ and put on the broiler/grill
3. Cut the red bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove the stem and the ribs. Brush a baking sheet lightly with olive oil and lay on the red bell peppers skin side up (i.e. cut side down). Place them under the broiler. After about 10 minutes, the skins will start to turn black. When they are evenly blackened, remove from oven. Let cool so that they are easy to handle and remove the skin (it should now come off very easily)
4. Cut the peeled red bell peppers in thin slices
5. Cut the red onion in thin slices. Heat up a skillet with a splash of olive oil and add the red onion slices. Sauté for a couple of minutes. Then add balsamic vinegar and sauté for a couple more minutes and let cool
6. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and then mix with 1 tsp garlic powder, salt and black pepper. You can either use the chickpeas as is (like I usually do) or roast them on a skillet or oven
7. Rinse and shred the kale. Add a splash of olive oil and massage the leaves using your hands so that the leaves soften
8. Cut the cucumber and avocado into pieces
9. To make the dressing, put the soaked cashews, mustard, capers, lemon juice and garlic clove (roughly chopped) into a food processor. Blend until smooth and add water as required for the right consistency. Adjust seasoning (mustard, lemon, capers) and add a pinch of salt if required based on your preference
10. Compile the salad by mixing all the ingredients and topping with the delicious dressing and a pinch of smoked paprika powder (optional)

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 Calories: 489 Fat: 26 Carbohydrates: 62 Sugar: 12 Fiber: 16 Protein: 17

3.5.3226