Thursday, June 3, 2010

Guiltless Caesar Salad Dressing

After 17 months of food blogging (and some gentle urging from a best friend), I have changed the look of the blog. Hope this is not too upsetting for those who are change-averse.

When I was visiting Cassandra (the aforementioned best friend) last month, she made me a gorgeous meal of Caesar salad with tempeh croutons. It was incredible, along with one or more bottles of bubbly, served out of French teacups.

I wanted to try to re-create that meal tonight for Alicia and Terrin in the backyard. But I substituted chicken for tempeh and made a homemade dressing that was super healthy.


I love this dressing, it is simple and yummy. However, I brought a little container of Guiltless Caesar Salad Dressing to work to eat with some carrots as a snack and a co-worker mentioned that my office reeked of garlic so I would advise caution if you want to eat this in public!

I also bucked tradition and added sliced carrots, radishes, and grape tomatoes to the salad for additional crunch and color. Also, instead of croutons on the salad, I grilled up slices of a French baguette that were then rubbed with the cut half of a fresh garlic clove to go on the side.

Guiltless Caesar Salad Dressing (adapted from Alton Brown)
2 ounces parmesan cheese, grated on your microplane
2 cloves garlic, grated on your microplane
2 Tbsp dijon mustard (I used whole-grain style)
2 tsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp anchovy paste
1 cup soft tofu
salt and pepper to taste
juice of 1 lemon
4 Tbsp olive oil

Blend all ingredients in food processor until desired taste and consistency. You may need to add more liquid (lemon juice or olive oil).

Serve tossed with fresh romaine lettuce and chopped red onion, lots of freshly cracked pepper, more parmesan cheese, and a protein of your choice (chicken, shrimp, tempeh, tofu, white beans) and garlicky bread.

Also required - lots of bubbly wine.


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