Lemony Caesar Dressing

(pictured: duo of salads with lemony Caesar salad and sweet potato hummus)

It was really cold this morning at 7 am when we got to the farmers market and silly me left the house in a thin button down shirt and summer pants with flats and no socks. By the time we got home my fingertips were numb. I checked the weather channel and it was only 42 degrees at 8 am. Next week I will wear a jacket.

We bought some great stuff at the market this morning. Our organic CSA had freshly dug Jerusalem artichokes this morning. We also bought a ½ bushel of apples, spaghetti squash, delicata squash, arugula, eggplant, fresh chestnuts, Chinese cabbage and the last of the season tomatoes. I love produce and always get carried away at the market. With all the apples you can expect to see a lot of recipes using them this week.

This morning I made us a duo of salads for breakfast. I know salad sounds odd for breakfast but I think it is great way to start the morning with lots of antioxidants. During the week we don’t have that much time for breakfast (a lot of chewing), but weekends are another story. I made our normal green salad with hummus and hempseeds and added a bitter greens salad topped with grated carrot and beet with lemony Caesar dressing.

The salad dressing is my adaptation of the recipe in “The Professional Chef”. My version contains more lemon because I am fiend for the acidity. If lemon is not your favorite I would recommend you start with half a lemon in this recipe.

Lemony Caesar Dressing
Makes approximately 20 tablespoons

Ingredients:

½ cup raw cashews
½ cup water
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce (like Tabasco)
¼ teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 tablespoon low fat silken tofu – optional for body
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place everything in the blender and process until completely smooth. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust to your taste.

Salad dressing will thicken as it chills. The silken tofu was added for a little additional body for the dressing.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 16.84
Calories From Fat (59%) - 9.88

Total Fat - 1.06g
Saturated Fat - 0.19g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 19.06mg
Potassium - 24.14mg
Total Carbohydrates - 1.16g
Fiber - 0.14g
Sugar - 0.25g
Protein - 0.52g

Comments:

The dominant flavor in this dressing is lemon. Nutritional yeast is the next flavor that comes out. You could start with a ½ tablespoon of nutritional yeast if you want a less “cheesy” dressing. Overall I was quite pleased with the flavor of this dressing. It reminds me of a lemon Caesar dressing by Tyler Florence I used to make.