Caesar Salad – Vegan and Gluten-Free

It is amazing how well the flavors of nutritional yeast and lemon juice can dutifully mimic cheesy tastes.  Slight variations on their amounts can yield surprising results.  With no cheese in sight.

My findings:

More lemon juice and less nutritional yeast equals a tangier result.  Think: faux feta.  But less juice and more yeast?  You’ll have a slightly bolder and richer taste, like: hollandaise sauce or even, Gouda replication.

To make the dressing for this recipe, I used the former approach of less nutritional yeast and more lemon juice, in order to achieve a tangy caesar dressing with subtly rich notes.  For a more mellow flavor, decrease the amount of lemon juice.

Caesar Salad

2 handfuls lettuce
1 handful croutons (recipe below for homemade version)
1/2 recipe Caesar Dressing

Directions: Place all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and toss.  For maximum enjoyment, use hands.

Serves: 2

Caesar Dressing

4 Tablespoons oil
2 Tablespoons water
1/2 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 teaspoon sugar (or other sweetener)
2 cloves fresh garlic
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions: Place all ingredients in a blender and whirl until smooth.  Serve with Caesar Salad (recipe above) or this Creamy Lemon and Parsley Rice (recipe to come later).