Vegan Restaurant-Style Caesar Dressing

Caesar salad is one of my most favorite foods of all time and has been since I was a kid. Especially the kind you get from a steakhouse, hence the "restaurant-style" in the title. There is just something that is so divinely delicious about that rich, creamy, garlicky, peppery dressing on a pile of cold, crisp romaine lettuce. I could eat it all day every day.

This dressing is featured in my Vegan Chik'n Caesar Wraps recipe, and it's always a winner! However, the beauty of caesar dressing is that you don't have to do anything fancy to it. You can just slap it on some lettuce and it's an instant side dish! Or a meal if you've ever eaten an entire bag of those ready-to-eat caesar salad kits in one sitting. Or maybe that's just me? Speaking of which, I am so sad those salad kits aren't vegan. However, missing all these caesar salads is what forced me to figure out a vegan version, and I think this one comes pretty close!

RECIPE

Makes approx. 12 oz. or 1 1/2 cups:

• 1/4 c. tahini

• 1/4 c. olive oil

• 1/4 c. vegan mayo (or sub with olive oil if you don't have any)

• 1 whole bulb garlic, roasted (technique below)

• 1-2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

• 2 T lemon juice

• 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

• 1 tsp. soy sauce

• 1 tsp. capers (optional)

• Salt and lots of black pepper, to taste

• A little water to thin, if needed

To roast the garlic:

Peel back the outermost papery layers of the bulb of garlic and cut off the very top so all the cloves are exposed, as shown.

Drizzle garlic with a little olive oil and wrap loosely in foil so it doesn't burn and the oil doesn't leak out.

Bake in oven or toaster oven at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes, until cloves are soft and caramelized. Remove the cloves from the bulb.

Toss all ingredients into a food processor or blender. Blend everything together until smooth, adding water to thin the dressing to the preferred consistency, and tasting to see if it needs more salt or pepper.