Caesar Salad With Tofu Croutons Food

VEGAN CAESAR SALAD WITH CRISPY BAKED TOFU

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
• Cut tofu into 1-inch cubes; place in a medium bowl. Add oil, Italian seasoning, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper; toss to combine.
• Arrange tofu cubes in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.
• In a blender or food processor, add all ingredients for the dressing. Blend until completely smooth.
• In a large bowl, add lettuce, tomatoes, baked tofu and Caesar dressing; toss to combine.
• Serve immediately. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.

VEGETARIAN CAESAR SALAD WITH SALT AND PEPPER TOFU CROUTONS

Steps:

• Mix all the ingredients for the dressing together and set aside. Taste and adjust for seasoning (the more freshly cracked pepper, the better.) Use some plant based milk to thin it out to your taste.
• In a large bowl, combine the cornflour, salt and pepper. Into the bowl, tear the tofu into bite sized crouton style chunks. Tearing it as opposed to cutting it gives it nice craggy edges that become crispy. You can do half torn and half cut if you prefer. Toss with your hands to thoroughly coat.
• Heat a large heavy bottomed pan or skillet with some plain flavoured oil over a medium- high heat(vegetable, canola or peanut are good, except peanut adds nuts to the mix.)
• Once the pan is hot, add the tofu in batches, cooking on all sides and until golden brown. Remove from the pan onto a plate once cooked and repeat until all the tofu is done.
• Depending on the brand you've chosen, you might have some crumbly tofu bits leftover. Cook them at the end - they add delicious little chunks of crunchiness.
• Arrange all the greens on a plate and top with the tofu croutons, any herbs you're using and the dressing. You can toss to coat, if that's your thing. Finish with the soft boiled eggs, sliced in half, some extra slices of Parmesan, extra herbs (optional) a crack of fresh black pepper and some sea salt flakes. Keeps well in the fridge for a few days.

CAESAR SALAD CROUTONS

Steps:

• Combine garlic and oil in a small saucepan.
• Simmer until cloves are a light gold color, about 15 minutes.
• Pour oil through a fine sieve, squeeze all juice from cloves, and then discard the solids.
• Set garlic oil aside.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• Lightly oil a baking sheet.
• Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on baking sheet.
• Bake, turning bread cubes periodically, until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
• In a large, non-stick skillet, melt 1/3 cup ghee with 1/3 cup garlic oil over medium heat.
• Cook toasted bread cubes in batches until light to medium golden brown, turning frequently.
• Add more ghee and garlic oil as needed.
• Turn out into basket lined with paper towels, and drain for about 20 minutes.
• Note: For other uses- garden salad, soup, etcetera- you can add dried herbs of your choice, but if you do, don't use them with a Caesar salad -- too many flavour contrasts.

CAESAR CROUTONS

Steps:

• Add lemon zest, garlic powder, pepper,oreagno, parmesan cheese, parsley season salt, olive oil, fresh lemon juice mix with stick blender or whisk together well.
• In large bowl mix bread cubes with caeser dressing and mix well.
• Bake on two large cookie sheets 350 for about 15-20 minutes or until toasted. Stirring every 5 minutes. Ovens may vary a bit so watch closely.
• Cool compelety and store in air tight container.
• I buy day old bread and put in freezer then when Im ready to make crutons I take the bread out for about an hour then cube it, makes it a little easier, but make sure they are to room temp and soft before adding the ceasar mix.
• Save the crusts and toast in oven and make bread crumbs.
• When Im making caesar salad I use this recipe and add 2-3 anchovy fillets. A nice change from creamy dressings.

CAESAR TOFU SALAD

Steps:

• In a food processor, pure the garlic, anchovies, olives and mustard. Add the tofu and lemon juice. With machine running, drizzle in the olive oil and season.
• Toss with dressing and serve on chilled oval plates. Garnish with cracked black pepper and optional pizza flavored goldfish.
• Beverage: Iced black tea

CAESAR SALAD WITH CRUNCHY CROUTONS

Steps:

• Make the croutons:
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Hand-tear the bread into small pieces and put them into a bowl. Add the olive oil, Parmesan, and thyme leaves; season with salt and pepper. Mix this well to combine all the flavors. Spread the cubes out onto a baking sheet and bake until they are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let them cool before tossing them onto the salad.
• Make the dressing: Put the anchovies, garlic, lemon juice, and water into a blender and process for 30 seconds until the mixture is smooth. With the blender running, pour the olive oil in slowly for the dressing to emulsify. Stir in the Parmesan and a couple of grinds of black pepper. Season, to taste, with salt and set aside. (Refrigerate the dressing if you will not be using it right away.)
• Assemble the salad: Tear the lettuce into a large bowl. Add enough dressing to coat the salad to your liking. Add the croutons and some extra Parmesan and toss the salad well. Serve immediately.

CAESAR SALAD WITH TOFU CROUTONS

Steps:

• To make the Tofu Croutons, preheat the oven to 450°. Cut the tofu into 1-inch cubes and place them in a single layer in an oiled baking dish. In a small bowl, mix the oil, soy sauce, sage, fennel, red pepper, and garlic. Pour this marinade over the tofu and stir well. Bake until the edges of the tofu are crisp and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 25 minutes. Stir the tofu once or twice during baking.
• Meanwhile, rinse and dry the lettuce leaves. Slice or tear them into bite-sized pieces and place in a large salad bowl. Prepare the Caesar Dressing.
• Just before serving, toss the lettuce with some of the dressing. Pass the Tofu Croutons, grated cheese, and more dressing at the table.
• Serving & menu ideas
• Serve with a crusty baguette and sweet butter. On a night when a soup and salad supper would hit the spot, heat up some Creamy Onion Soup with Sherry (page 132).

KALE CAESAR SALAD WITH TOFU CROUTONS & KALAMATA CAESAR DRESSING

Steps:

• Make the tofu croutons. Remove the block of tofu from its packaging and drain the water. Press the tofu by laying a half dozen or so paper towels on a dinner plate and placing the tofu on top. Add a couple more paper towels and top with 4 or 5 more dinner plates. Let sit for 20-30 minutes, checking occasionally to move the plates if they're off balance. Or, much easier, use a tofu press!
• Set the tofu on a cutting board and cut it into crouton-size pieces, about 3/4-inch big.
• Heat the grapeseed oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. On a large plate or in a shallow baking dish, combine the corn starch, garlic powder, and salt with a fork. Working in batches, dredge the tofu in the corn starch mixture, turning to coat evenly. Carefully add tofu to hot oil in skillet. Cook on medium-high for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally to brown most sides. Remove tofu from pan and place on several paper towels, blotting to remove excess oil.
• Make the dressing. To a food processor or high-power blender, add the olives, garlic, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, vinegar, Worchestershire sauce, and pepper. Pulse until smooth, about 30 seconds. Drizzle in the olive oil and blend until smooth and creamy, about 15-20 seconds more.
• Prepare the salad. Add the kale to a large bowl and drizzle the dressing over the top. Toss well to coat all of the leaves. Top with the tofu croutons and a few shavings of Parmesan cheese, if desired. Serve with additional lemon wedges to squeeze over the top.