How to make the perfect vegan caesar salad – recipe | Felicity Cloake's How to make the perfect …

If I’ve learned anything from almost 40 days of plant-based eating, it’s that an homage doesn’t have to be indistinguishable from the original to hit the same spot; it simply needs to sing equivalent notes to much the same tune. Those notes, in this case, are a green salad, a thick, umami-spiked dressing and savoury croutons, all tossed in a pitch-perfect combination of flavours (milky lettuce, salty fish, rich fat) and textures (crisp leaves, creamy dressing, crunchy toasted bread). So, while the recipe below isn’t pretending to be an authentic classic caesar, consider it a very decent and, I hope, similarly pleasing cover version.

The dressing

Becky Hughes’ vegan caesar employs a sprinkling of roasted nori for an added iodine hit. All thumbnail photographs by Felicity Cloake.

The caesar is a simple salad, however much people like to complicate it with toppings and other nonsense (of which more later), which means it stands and falls on its dressing. Yes, we can and will argue about whether it’s acceptable to deviate from the usual cos lettuce, but, really, the leaves are a mere vehicle to convey this rich, fiercely savoury substance from bowl to mouth; a fig leaf of fibre floating on a lake of “good” fats. The problem here is that, in its original form, the dressing, which gets its substance from egg yolk and much of its flavour from salty little anchovies, is very much not vegan-friendly.

My first task was to replace the egg yolk. I tried several bases: cashews, as recommended by Becky Hughes in the New York Times; almonds and silken tofu, as used by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero in their book Veganomicon; Ashley Madden’s tahini, from her Plant-Based Cookbook; and Ixta Belfrage’s coconut yoghurt and Tom Hunt’s aquafaba, both from the Guardian recipe archive. All work, but my testers and I aren’t overly keen on the flavour of coconut here, and find the cashews a little sweet and grainy – soaking, we surmise, might have helped with the texture, or perhaps I might just need to invest in a more powerful blender (there seems to be a lot of blending involved in vegan cookery, I’m discovering).

Silken tofu and tahini both work well, the former giving a lighter, creamier result that’s more reminiscent of that other great American favourite, ranch dressing, and the latter blending in better than I anticipate, but the overall favourite is Hunt’s aquafaba. This, for anyone new to Guardian food content, is the cooking water from tinned chickpeas (the cooking liquor of home-cooked ones is apparently less reliable, because the liquid can be less concentrated). Though some people find it has a slightly leguminous flavour, if you can taste it here you simply haven’t added enough garlic. Once whizzed up with the same olive oil used in the classic caesar dressing, it has a surprisingly voluptuous richness that works a treat, especially with a few chickpeas thrown in to stabilise the emulsion, as suggested by J Kenji López-Alt on Serious Eats.

Caper brine and coconut sugar do the business in Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero’s take on the vegan caesar.

The flavourings I find easier to pin down. In keeping with tradition, there will be garlic (I infuse the olive oil with it) and lemon juice, but instead of salty anchovies, I like the idea of Hughes and Veganomicon’s caper brine. You could stick in some whole capers, too, as Hunt and Madden do, but I prefer the deeper, richer savouriness of Belfrage and Hughes’ white miso paste (the lightest, sweetest variety, ideally). I prefer the miso to Hunt’s vegan Worcestershire sauce, which, like Madden’s cider vinegar and maple syrup combo, brings sweet-and-sour notes that I don’t remember in the original. The same goes for the coconut sugar in Veganomicon’s version and, much as I enjoy mustard (Madden uses dijon, Chandra Moskowitz and Hope Romero mustard powder), I don’t think it has a place in a caesar dressing.

To try to mimic a little of the maritime notes of the fish, I’ve crumbled in some of Hughes’ roasted nori – my testers are divided as to whether the seaweed actually tastes anything like anchovies, or whether the effect is purely psychosomatic, but, because plant-based diets tend to be low in iodine, it feels like a good addition either way. I’ve also added some cheesy nutritional yeast, because, while the cheese goes on top of a traditional caesar salad, in this case it’s useful to include another source of umami in the dressing itself. As usual, however, you may like to adjust to taste, adding more or less of any of the above as you fancy.

The salad

Tom Hunt saves time and energy by crisping his croutons in a frying pan rather than in the oven.

As Madden writes: “Kale caesar salads are popular for a good reason – they’re incredible!” I first came across the idea in New York more than a decade ago and would echo her enthusiasm – the dressing clings to the frills of both her curly kale and Hughes’ cavolo nero with far more enthusiasm than to even the most meticulously dried cos. But, having removed the eggs, anchovies and parmesan from the equation, I feel I at least ought to stick with the original lettuce.

Should you be braver in the privacy of your own home, other suggestions include Belfrage’s cucumber, Veganomicon’s spinach or rocket and Hunt’s wild sea kale, dulse and dandelion leaves (OK, I couldn’t get hold of the sea kale in central London, but, Tom, I did raid the garden weeds for you and can confirm that well-rinsed dandelion leaves are deliciously bitter). Whatever you use, I’d recommend tearing or cutting it into bite-sized pieces, and drying it very well after washing, so the dressing coats it, rather than sliding off into a watery mess. You might also, as Belfrage does, fancy popping in some herbs – she suggests chives and basil, both of which pair beautifully with the other flavours here.

The toppings

Ashley Madden’s effort features a ‘parmesan’ made by blitzing cashew nuts, turmeric and nutritional yeast: ‘Sceptical as I am, I really enjoyed it.’

Croutons are a must in a caesar salad – I like to keep them fairly simple and bite-sized. I bake them, but, as Hunt’s recipe proves, they can be made successfully in a frying pan, too, which will use less energy, as would an air fryer. But you might like to get fancy and, like Belfrage, coat them in sesame seeds, maple syrup and chilli, or in Chandra Moskowitz and Hope Romero’s roast garlic and lemon juice. Fried, air-fried or baked, make sure they’re nice and crunchy, so leave the crusts on to help with that.

Both Madden and Hughes top their salads with chickpeas – roasted until crisp in Hughes’ case, fried in a smoky spice mix for Madden – while Hunt recommends walnuts. Your choice, but I don’t think the salad needs either. But I do like it topped with a blizzard of parmesan, which is where Madden’s “cashew turmeric parmesan” comes in, made from blitzed nuts, sesame seeds, nutritional yeast and turmeric for colour.

Ixta Belfrage jazzes up her croutons by coating them in sesame seeds for extra crunch.

Sceptical as I am, I really enjoy it – it tastes more one-dimensionally, almost artificially “cheesy” than actual parmesan, but with the creamy dressing and blandly crisp leaves as a foil, it works. That said, I’ve left out the sesame seeds in my copy-cat version, because I don’t think they add anything to the experience. Heap it over the top, or replace with your favourite vegan parmesan alternative as you wish. If you want to bulk out the salad, top it with smoked tofu, seitan or similar, but I think it’s pretty damn perfect as it is.

Perfect vegan caesar salad

Prep 15 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 2-4 as a side

1 thick slicecrusty bread (about 100g)
Salt and black pepper
1 large cos lettuce, or 2 little gems, washed and well dried

Crush the garlic into the oil and leave to infuse while you get on with everything else. Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 and cut the bread, crusts and all, into crouton-sized chunks.

Put these on a baking tray, drizzle over a little of the garlicky oil and sprinkle with salt. Toss the bread to coat, then bake for about 20 minutes, turning over once halfway, until golden all over.

Meanwhile, put the aquafaba, chickpeas, nori, lemon juice, caper brine, miso and nutritional yeast in a container just wide enough to fit the head of a stick blender.

Whizz until completely smooth, then, still whizzing, gradually trickle in the remaining garlic-infused oil, running it slowly down the side of the container, until you have a creamy dressing. Season to taste.

In a mini chopper, pulse all the ingredients for the cashew “parmesan”, if making,until reduced to a rough powder; don’t overdo it, though, or you’ll end up with nut butter.

Tear the lettuce into bite-sized pieces and put them in a large bowl. Add just over half the dressing and a good spoonful of the cashew mixture, if using, and toss to coat (add more dressing, if necessary).

Transfer to a serving bowl or plates, then top with the croutons, a sprinkle of extra cashews and a good grind of black pepper. Serve with the rest of the dressing on the side, for people to add as they wish.

• Vegan caesar salad – assuming the very concept doesn’t have you rushing for the anchovies and eggs, what’s the secret to success? And, given how much fun this piece was to research, which other classic recipes would you like to see plant-based alternatives for?