Vegcentric summer Caesar salad

Who doesn’t love a Ceasar salad, especially in summer? We’re delighted to share one of the first recipes in a series written for the brilliant Suffolk brand Aspall vinegar this summer. If you’ve yet to try cooking with their vinegars you are in for a real treat. Things are about to get deliciously tangy.

This vegcentric recipe swerves chicken and bacon to keep things vegetarian. We’ve replaced bacon bits with crispy, smokey chickpeas; these are roasted at a high heat in a sweet and salty marinade until crispy and they add wonderful texture and ‘meatiness’ to the salad.

Giant olive oil croutons give delicious heft, and the creamy all-purpose dressing - made using Aspall cyder vinegar - provides a delicious tang and a wonderful creamy mouthfeel. Shaved parmesan brings umami flavour, as do fresh cherry tomatoes. This salad is best dressed and eaten right away, but all the elements can be prepared in advance and simply tossed with the dressing just before you wish to eat.

 Prep time: 10 minutes (exc. preparing a batch of creamy all-purpose dressing)

Cook time: 22-26 minutes

This recipe serves 4 as a main course.

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Ingredients :

• 2 romaine lettuce

• 250 g cherry tomatoes

• 60 g parmesan cheese

• 4 free-range eggs

• 1 tin chickpeas

• 1 clove garlic

• 5 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari

• 1 tbsp brown sugar

• 4 thick slices sourdough bread

• 1 tsp flakey sea salt

• ¼ tsp cracked black pepper

• 8 tbsp creamy all-purpose dressing

• 4 tbsp olive oil, to garnish

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees.

2. Prepare the marinade for the smoky chickpeas: finely crush or mince the garlic, then whisk this with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of tamari, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, and ½ teaspoon of flakey sea salt.

3. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then toss in the marinade to coat evenly. Spread onto a lined baking tray and roast in the preheated oven for 22-26 minutes until looking golden brown and slightly crispy. Opening the oven once or twice during cooking will help the steam escape.

4. Cut the sourdough into chunky cubes; toss with 4 tablespoons of olive oil, ½ teaspoon of flaky sea salt and ¼ teaspoon of cracked black pepper. Scatter onto a second roasting tray and toast in the oven, simultaneously, for 6-8 minutes until looking golden and crunchy.

5. Bring a generous saucepan of water to the boil, submerge your eggs, and simmer for 6-7 minutes. Drain the eggs, run under cold water to stop the cooking process, then peel and keep to one side.

6. Chop the romaine lettuce; halve the cherry tomatoes; and shave the parmesan with a veg peeler.

7. Once your chickpeas and croutons have cooled, toss all of your salad ingredients together in a large mixing bowl (excluding the boiled eggs) with 8 tablespoons of creamy all-purpose dressing. Make sure things are coated evenly.

8. Serve the salad into 4 dinner bowls and top each with a halved boiled egg, a few extra shavings of parmesan, and a light drizzle of olive oil.