This month’s Vegan Date Night is going Italian. Featuring dishes like Caesar salad topped with chickpea ‘croutons’ and fresh avocado, homemade lasagna with alternating layers of warm noodles, melty vegan cheeses, and a divine tomato sauce, you’ll be shouting for more – and we’ll give you more. How about dessert? What better way to complete a not-so-traditional Italian dinner than with Tiramisu cupcakes.  Join us for our next class. Please visit  our ‘classes’ page for location dates and times.

Happy Vegan Caesar Salad

Ingredients:

2-4 Mini Romaine Lettuce heads (or regular heads of romaine)

16 oz  ‘grilled’ chickpeas (garbanzo beans)  – a healthy alternative to traditional croutons

1 large avocado

2 lemons

For ‘grilled’chickpeas:

1 Tbsp flour

1 tsp yellow curry powder

1 tsp ground ginger powder

1/2 tsp creole (or Cajun) seasoning

For the Dressing:

1 cup olive oil

1/4 cup water

1 Tbsp white miso paste

1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp lemon juice (add more or less to your taste)

1 tsp of chopped garlic

1 Tbsp capers

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp white pepper

Method:

Start with the dressing.

Puree all the dressing ingredients in a blender and refrigerate.

Vegan Momma Notes: Freshly made dressings always taste better the next day – you might want to prepare this dressing ahead of time

Next prepare the chickpea ‘croutons’

Rinse, drain and pat dry your chickpeas with a paper towel

In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour and seasonings. Add the chickpeas to the mixture and gently fold until all the beans (peas) are covered.

Pull out your panini grill, or cast-iron grill pan, spray a light coat of olive oil,  and turn up the heat.

After the grill is good and hot, add your prepared chickpeas to the pan.

Cook for approximatly 7-8 minutes or until the peas are slightly browned and a smidge crusty. Remember, these suckers tend to pop, so watch out.

Finally, build the salad

Start with the lettuce

Add the chickpeas

Top with fresh diced avocado

and finish with a drizzle of dressing (ok, really…drizzle schmizzle, load it on, its darn good stuff)

Enjoy!