Roasted leek, fennel & white bean salad with vegan caesar dressing
Leeks and chicory are both very high in inulin - a prebiotic fibre which is a key support to a healthy microbiome. The white beans add plant based protein and make this salad so brilliantly satiating. We use creamy hummus as the base of our Caesar dressing, and layer in the fantastically bold flavours of garlic, anchovies and tarragon. You can omit the anchovies if you wish to keep this vegan.
This is a true show-stopper of a salad with such an almighty punch of flavour, and it’s perfect for entertaining as it can be enjoyed warm, or served at room temperature if you’d like to prepare it in advance.
This recipe serves 4-6 people.
Wine pairing?
Albariño - read why here.
Ingredients for salad:
2 large fennel bulbs, save the fronds
2 large leeks
8 sprigs of thyme leaves, stripped from the stalks
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
60g pumpkin seeds
2 chicory bulbs
2 tins of cannellini or haricot beans
Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
Ingredients for dressing:
2 heaped tbsp creamy hummus
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, juice only
12g tarragon leaves (this was 1 pack of tarragon, stripped from the stalks)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp capers
2 anchovies - optional
2 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp salt
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees fan, or 220 conventional.
Start by making your dressing: mince or crush your garlic, and then combine all the dressing ingredients in a small blender and whizz until smooth-ish, we love leaving a little bit of texture.
Prepare your fennel and leek for the oven. Chop the fennel bulbs into approximately 10 wedges each and remove the tough central core. Top and tail your leeks before slicing them on the angle into 2 cm width slices. Toss these with the thyme leaves, olive oil, salt and pepper, and spread on a large roasting tray. Roast at the top of the preheated oven for 25 minutes until the vegetables are soft and lightly charred. Allow these to steam dry as they cool.
Turn the oven down to 180, and toast the pumpkin seeds for 6 minutes.
As the roasted vegetables cool you have time to prepare the other elements to the salad. Simply open and drain the beans, and separate the chicory leaves. If you’ve kept the fennel fronds roughly chop these too. Remove the pumpkin seeds from the oven which should now be smelling deliciously toasty!
Toss all of your salad ingredients together… it’s a messy job but we even recommend using your hands for a super even coating of the Caesar dressing!
Drizzle you salad with a final flourish of extra virgin olive oil before serving with some whole grain sourdough. Delicious!
