Tahini Caesar Salad with Crispy Chickpeas: Try this Recipe Twist!

I was a vegetarian for a long time, which is in stark opposition to my father, the cook of the house, who was on a strictly beef diet. One year, either for Christmas or my birthday, I received a gift from my aunt (my dad’s sister of course) which was a vegetarian cookbook. You see, she also had a vegetarian daughter and she thought I may also benefit from this book.

She was sorely mistaken and should have known better growing up in the same household with my dad. Everytime I wanted to cook something from the cookbook, he would pooh pooh the idea for one reason or another. I was quite young when I received this book, so I needed help cooking and there was always a reason that I couldn’t make one of the recipes. One in particular was a caesar salad, which I could not make because there were raw eggs in the dressing.

Well dad, I finally figured out a caesar salad recipe that you yourself may enjoy as an accompaniment to your next steak dinner! Enter my tahini caesar salad with crispy chickpeas. There are no eggs in this salad, raw, cooked, or otherwise. No, this simple salad combines crispy romaine with a creamy dressing and slight crunch from the spicy chickpeas.

While tahini might not be everyone’s go to for picky eaters, I think it is a pretty neutral flavor. So next time you are in the midst of a fussy eater, see if they will go for this tahini caesar salad with crispy chickpeas. Tell them the tahini is kind of like hummus in salad dressing form!

Tools:

I am using an air fryer for the chickpeas but a regular oven will work just as well.

Ingredients:

1 head of romaine lettuce chopped into bite sized pieces

1/3 cup of tahini

1 clove of garlic, minced

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 teaspoons of worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup shredded parmesan

Salt and pepper to taste

For the Crispy Chickpeas:

1 can of chickpeas, rinsed, drained, and dried a bit

1/2 teaspoon of each cumin, paprika, and salt

Dash of cayenne and black pepper

A drizzle of olive oil

Instructions:

1. Let’s start with the crispy chickpeas! Get your air fryer or oven preheated too 400F. Meanwhile, combine your drained chickpeas with the spices and a drizzle of oil and stir to combine. Pop those in the air fryer or oven for 15 minutes.
2. Next, in a large bowl, whisk together the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, worcestershire sauce, parmesan, salt, and pepper. If the dressing is too think, thin it out with about 1 tablespoon of water until you reach your desired consistency for a caesar style dressing.
3. In the same bowl, add the romaine and toss to combine. Once the chickpeas are done, add them to the romaine and give it a toss. Enjoy!

If you like this, you will love my halloumi wrap sandwich. It is so good with chickpeas and a tahini dressing!