50/50 Kale and Brussel Caesar

A healthy and tasty twist on a class Caesar salad...vegan and gluten-free.

Ingredients: 
1 cup (6-8) brussel sprouts, shredded
1 cup of kale, chopped
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 lemon, juice and zest
1 tbsp. of capers
1 tbsp. of red wine vinegar
2 tbsp of honey or Canadian maple syrup
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions:
Chop and wash kale and place into a large salad bowl. Finely shred the brussel sprouts using a mandolin or the large flat slicer on a regular cheese grater. Add the sprouts to the bowl and chill in fridge before ready to eat.
Tip: the more finely the sprouts are shredded the better they work in this salad. 
In a blender or food processor add olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and zest, tahini, capers, vinegar, honey. Blend on high until smooth add freshly ground pepper to taste and stir.

When ready to eat toss salad with 1/4 of dressing (use more if needed) and serve.

Optional Crostini Croutons:
 4-8 thinly sliced pieces of baguette
1 tbsp of olive oil
8 tsp. of Parmesan Reggiano
Freshly ground pepper and sea salt

Crostini Crouton Instructions (this will make the recipe vegetarian but not vegan or gluten free):
Preheat oven to 350F.
Place baguette slices on a cookie sheet and lightly brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Bake crostini for 5-7 minutes on each side until light golden brown. 
Add Parmesan to each crostini and bake 1-2 minutes until cheese has melted.

Serve warm crostini over cool tossed salad for a flavour and texture explosion!

Enjoy!