Vegetarian Caesar Salad

Legend has it that this renowned salad was created in 1924 by Italian chef Caesar Cardini who owned a restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico. Classically, the salad is tossed with a garlic vinaigrette dressing made with Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, grated Parmesan cheese, croutons, a raw or coddled egg, and anchovies. This more healthful version tastes incredibly like the original-but contains no eggs, dairy products, or anchovies, and it’s simple to make using basic pantry staples.

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake them until they are dry and lightly toasted, about 15 minutes. (The croutons will not reach their full crispness until they have cooled.) Set the croutons aside. 

To make the dressing, place the nutritional yeast flakes, tahini, mustard, and garlic in a medium mixing bowl, and stir them together to make a paste. Gradually add the lemon juice, soy sauce, and water, stirring vigorously with a wire whisk until the dressing is very smooth. 

To assemble the salad, place the lettuce leaves in a large mixing bowl. (The larger the better to facilitate tossing.) Pour the dressing over the lettuce and toss the salad until all the leaves are well coated. Add the croutons and toss the salad again, making sure that the dressing and croutons are well distributed. 

Scoop the salad equally onto four salad plates. Garnish each portion with ground black pepper, toasted nori flakes, and lemon wedges, if desired. Serve immediately. 

The Cook's Secrets:

Nori is a mild sea vegetable available in natural food stores. Toasting brings out nori’s sweet, delicate flavor. If you cannot find nori that is pre-toasted, you can easily toast it yourself over an open gas flame or in a dry skillet until it turns bright green. 

Nutritional information

  • 2 to 4 servings
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Ingredients

CROUTONS:

1½ cups French bread, sourdough bread, or whole grain bread, cubed (remove crusts, if desired) 

CAESAR DRESSING: 

  • 3 Tablespoons Red Star® nutritional yeast 
  • 2 Tablespoons tahini 
  • 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard 
  • 2 cloves garlic, pressed or very finely minced 
  • 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
  • 1 Tablespoon soy sauce 
  • cup water 
  • 6 to 8 cups (one medium head) torn romaine lettuce leaves 
  • ground black pepper (freshly ground, if possible), to taste 
  • toasted nori flakes or toasted and crumbled nori sheets, to taste (optional) 
  • fresh lemon wedges (optional) 

Extra Corny Corn Muffins

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Coat a 12 cup muffin tin (or two 6 cup muffin tins) with nonstick cooking spray, and set it aside.

Place the tofu, juice concentrate, water, and oil in a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade, and process into a smooth, creamy emulsion. Set aside.

Place the remaining ingredients except the corn in a large mixing bowl, and stir them together until they are well combined. Pour the blended mixture into the dry ingredients , and mix until the dry ingredients are evenly moistened. The batter will be very stiff. Stir in the corn kernels, and mix well.

Immediately spoon the batter equally into the prepared muffin cups. Use up all of the batter. The cups will be quite full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Gently loosen the muffins, and turn them on their sides in the muffin tin. Cover the muffins with a clean tea towel, and let them rest for 5 minutes. This will keep them fro,m developing a hard crust.

Transfer the muffins to a cooling rack, and serve them warm or at room temperature.

Nutritional information

  • 12 portions
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Ingredients

  • ½ pound reduced-fat regular tofu (firm), rinsed, patted dry, and crumbled 
  • ½ cup apple juice concentrate 
  • ½ cup water 
  • 2 Tablespoons corn oil or canola oil 
  • I cup whole wheat pastry flour 
  • cup yellow cornmeal 
  • 2 teaspoons Red Star® nutritional yeast 
  • 2 teaspoons non-aluminum baking powder (such as Rumford) 
  • I teaspoon baking soda 
  • ½ teaspoon salt 
  • I cup fresh corn kernels, I cup frozen corn kernels, thawed and drained, or I 8-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained 

Cheesy Kale Chips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300°. (Turn fan off if convection) 

Mix the olive oil, nutritional yeast, and salt until blended. 

Wash and dry the kale. Remove stems and break the leaves into pieces. 

Toss the kale into the seasoning mix until well coated. 

Bake at 300ᵒ for 7 minutes. Flip the kale over and bake for another 7 minutes, or until crispy.

Nutritional information

  • 6 portions
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Ingredients

Olive Oil, 5 Tbs 

Red Star Nutritional Yeast, Flakes 1/3 Cup 

Salt ¾ Tbs 

Kale, Fresh Baby, 1 Lbs.

Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta

Preparation

Bring salted water to a boil, add your pasta, and cook until al dente. Drain and hold hot. 

While the pasta is cooking, combine all pesto ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until creamy smooth (add additional oil if needed). 

Note: (Taste pesto, some salt may be needed, depending on Vegan Cheese) 

For service, add finished pesto with pasta and mix well to combine. 

Serve with a sprinkle of fresh parsley or basil if desired. 

Nutritional information

6 portions

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Ingredients

Brown Rice Pasta (Fusilli)         2/3 Lbs. 

Sundried Tomato Pesto: 

Oil Packed Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Drained 1/2 Lbs. (drained weight) 

Olive Oil 2 Cups (more if needed) 

Basil Leaves, Fresh 3/4 Cups 

Hemp Seed, Shelled 1/2 Cups 

Red Star Nutritional Yeast, Flakes 1/2 Cups 

Onion Powder 1/2 Tbs 

Vegan Parmesan Cheese, Grated 1 + 1/2 oz 

Garlic, Minced 1/2 Tbs 

Black Pepper 1/3 tsp 

Maple Date Cheesecake with Strawberries

Preparation

For 1 Cake: 

Crust: 

Add the macadamias, cashews and pitted dates to a food processor and process until a sticky dough has formed. 

Scoop out into a greased 8-inch springform pan and pat down until smooth. 

Place into the freezer to set. 

Maple Date Vegan Cheesecake with Strawberries cont.: 

Filling: 

In a food processor add the 2 cups of pre-soaked cashews along with the lemon juice, vanilla and maple syrup and blend until smooth. 

Pour this over the crust, smooth out with a spatula and return to the freezer. 

Allow this to set firmly (overnight) before you prepare your topping. 

Topping: 

Add the soaked cashews, fresh strawberries, lemon juice and 2 Tablespoons maple syrup to the blender and blend until smooth. Taste to check sweetness (the sweetness will depend on the sweetness of the strawberries), if needed add more maple syrup and blend again. 

Pour this over the cheesecake layer and return to the freezer to set solidly. 

When completely set, let it thaw for 30 minutes then decorate top with fresh sliced strawberries and serve. 

Nutritional information

1 cake 5 portions

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Ingredients

Crust: 

Raw Cashews 1/2 Cup 

Raw Macadamia Nuts 1/2 Cup 

Pitted Dates 1/2 Cup 

Filling:  

Raw Cashews, soaked 4 Hours and Drained 1 Cups 

Lemon Juice, Fresh 2 tbs 

Vanilla Extract 1 tsp 

Maple Syrup 1 tsp  

Red Star Nutritional Yeast, Flakes 1 tsp  

Topping: 

Raw Cashews, soaked 4 Hours and Drained 1/2 Cup 

Fresh Strawberries 3/4 Cup 

Lemon Juice, Fresh 1/2 Tbs 

Maple Syrup 1 1/2 Tbs 

Decoration: 

Sliced strawberries as needed 

Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F. 

Pour cauliflower into a large bowl. Toss with melted butter shaking to make sure cauliflower is coated on all sides. 

Add hot sauce. Toss and stir until all the cauliflower is coated. 

Add Nutritional Yeast and mix well. 

Transfer cauliflower to parchment lined sheet trays and bake for 10-15 minutes, until browned and crispy. Turn once halfway thru. 

Serve Immediately. 

Nutritional information

  • 6 portions
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Ingredients

Cauliflower Florets, Fresh or Thawed Frozen 0.8 Lbs. 

Butter, Unsalted, Melted ¾ cup 

Franks Regular Hot Sauce (not buffalo) 1 ½  Cup 

Red Star Nutritional Yeast, Flakes 0.3 Lbs.  

Spinach Artichoke and Roasted Red Pepper Quiche

Preparation

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray pie pans with oil. 

For every pan: Cut 2 tortillas in half (making 4 pieces) and arrange them so that the bottom and sides are covered. Bake for about 10-15 minutes checking to make sure the tortillas have not moved and not bubbling (break any bubbles if they form). Remove when just crisp. 

During baking, heat oil over med heat. Add onion and cook till translucent. Add garlic and cook until aromatic but not brown. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Remove from heat. 

In a food processor, add tofu, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and spices. Process until smooth. 

Add artichokes and onion mixture to food processor and plus until mixed. Fold in diced peppers 

Put mixture into pie pan.  Bake for about 45 mins at 350.

Nutritional information

  • 6 portions
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Ingredients

Large Tortillas 3 

Olive Oil 1/6 Cup 

White Onion, Small Dice ½ Lbs. 

Garlic, Minced 1/6 Cup 

Spinach, Fresh, Clean 3.25 oz 

Silken Tofu, Drained 1.3 Lbs. 

Red Star Nutritional Yeast, Flakes ¾  Cups 

Dijon Mustard ½ Tbs 

Lemon Juice, Fresh ½ Cup  

Basil, Dried ½  Tbs 

Turmeric ¼ Tbs 

Salt ¼  Tbs 

Pepper 1/3 tsp 

Canned Artichoke, Drained, Chopped ¾  Lbs. 

Roasted Red Peppers, Drained, Diced 1/3  Cup