I had a serious caesar salad phase a while back, but it had definitely gone off my radar until recently. When we were in Maui in March, I had the best slightly spicy caesar wrap and I’ve been craving one since.
This creamy caesar dressing pairs so well with the herby and flavor packed sun-dried tomato pesto. Toss in some seitan chicken or chickpeas, and you have yourself one amazing wrap.
Caesar Wraps with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
For the caesar dressing:
2/3 c cashews
1/2 c water
3 T lemon juice
2 T capers (divided)
2 T olive oil
1 T dijon mustard
1 tsp vegan Worcestershire
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper to taste
For the Sun-dried Tomato Pesto:
1 c sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil)
1 c packed basil
1 clove garlic
2 T nutritional yeast
2 T pine nuts
1 T lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c olive oil
For the wraps:
2 heads of romaine, washed and chopped
4 burrito-sized flour tortillas (I used spinach ones)
1 c cherry tomatoes, halved (optional)
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1 package chik’n seitan (or other substitute of choice, I used Tofurkey Plant-Based Chick’N)
Method:
1. To make the caesar dressing: Blend cashews, water, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of capers, olive oil, dijon, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt and pepper in a high speed blender until smooth. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if necessary. Stir in remaining table spoon of capers. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge.
2. Make the sun-dried tomato pesto: In a food processor, pulse sun-dried tomatoes, basil, garlic, nutritional yeast, pine nuts, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Once everything is well combined and a paste-like texture forms, stream in the olive oil while blending.
Note: If you’re using a blender instead of a food processor, simply add all ingredients at once and pulse until everything is well combined, scraping down the sides as needed.
3. In a large mixing bowl, toss the romaine and onions in the caesar dressing. Set aside.
4. Prepare your protein according to package directions. If using chicken-style seitan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat, and sauté seitan until warmed through.
5. To assemble your wrap, spread a generous serving of pesto on each tortilla. Add the salad mixture and seitan, then wrap as you would a burrito. Enjoy!