Caesar salad will be so much more delicious if you ditch chicken for tasty alternative

Who doesn't love a good caesar salad? Fresh and crunchy lettuce, mountains of parmesan cheese and a creamy dressing is truly one of the best combinations out there, especially when served with chips and an ice-cold drink on the side.

The protein of choice in a ceasar salad is usually chicken. However, as someone who avoids meat, I've had to find different ways to enjoy it. And I recently tried a simple and nutritious addition that takes 10 minutes to cook in the air fryer, adding a tasty twist on the classic recipe.

I stopped being vegan a few years ago but I'll never get bored of trying out vegan recipes, so earlier this week I decided to try my hand at making my own caesar salad dressing.

And for the protein, I chose the plant-based superfood crispy dippers from Moving Mountains. Packed with veggies and covered in a delicious crisp coating, I thought these would make the ideal addition to my salad.

If you're someone who tries to hit 30 'plant points' a week, good news: these include a whopping 14.25 of these, making them a must-have in your weekly shop.

Loosely following the plant-based food company's recipe, I whipped up a delicious salad that not only tasted great but was packed with nutrition too. Making your own dressing means you know exactly what's going in there, and it's something I'll be making again and again.

Ingredients

For the dressing

• 1/4 cup plain hummus
• One tsp spicy mustard
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• Three tbsp lemon juice
• Two tsp capers (finely minced/smashed, plus 3 tsp brining juice)
• Four cloves garlic, minced
• One healthy pinch each sea salt + pepper (more to taste)

For the salad

• Seven Moving Mountains superfood crispy dippers, cut in half
• Two baby gem lettuces
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Three slices of stale sourdough bread
• Garlic clove
• Parmesan cheese or vegetarian alternative

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C. Rub a clove of garlic over the the sourdough bread, tear into bite-sized chunks and toss with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread them on a baking tray and cook for about 12 minutes, then allow to cool - these will be your croutons.

Meanwhile, make the dressing by mixing all of the ingredients together. Add a small splash of warm water to thin it out, whisking constantly until you've got the consistency you want.

Then, it's time to cook the dippers. Put them in the air fryer and cook at 180C for 10-12 minutes, until they're nice and crispy.

While they're cooking, wash and chop up the lettuce. Toss it with a drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper, and divide between two bowls.

When the dippers are ready, cut each one in half and split between the bowls. Add some croutons on top, then add the dressing, giving everything a really good mix to combine. Sprinkle with as much parmesan cheese as your heart desires, and enjoy.