My friend Julie and I made dozens of mason jars full of this hearty salad for The Banff Yoga Festival. Here is the recipe for all of you who requested it! Tempeh is a fermented soy product that is loaded with protein and easily digested. Much like tofu it soaks up whatever it is marinated in. In this recipe it is simply coated with a little tamari and fried in avocado oil before being tossed with baby kale, cherry tomatoes, capers, lemon rind, croutons, and a creamy cashew dressing.
Ingredients:
serves 4
- 1 pkg. of Earth bound Farms baby kale
- 1 recipe of cashew caesar dressing (recipe follows)
- 1 recipe of fried tempeh (recipe follows)
- 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup of capers, drained
- 1 heaping tsp. of organic lemon zest
- 3/4 cup of croutons of your choice ( I made raw dehydrated croutons however you can make your own by sautéing cubed gluten free bread in a little olive oil or simply crush some rice crackers or Mary’s gluten free crackers into the salad for texture)
The Dressing:
- 3/4 cup raw cashews soaked in water for at least 2 hours
- 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast
- juice of two organic lemons, zest the rind to garnish the salad
- 1 pitted soft date
- 1 stalk of celery, chopped
- 2 whole cloves of garlic
- 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp. himalayan salt
- 1/3 cup of water
- lots of fresh cracked pepper
Combine all ingredients except the lemon rind and the pepper in a high speed blender until silky smooth. Stir in the pepper and set aside.
Crispy Tempeh:
We used smoked tempeh for this salad but if you can’t find it, regular tempeh will work just fine. Thaw the tempeh and cut into rectangles, 1/4 in. X 1 in. X 2 in. Heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the tempeh along with 2 tbsp. of tamari. Continue to stir until the tempeh is browned on all sides. Tempeh tends to soak up a lot of oil as it cooks so feel free to add a splash more. Set aside to cool.
To Serve:
Toss the baby kale with enough dressing to coat, capers, tomatoes, reserved lemon zest, croutons, crispy tempeh, and more freshly cracked black pepper and a sprinkling of nutritional yeast.