Vegan Caesar Salad With Crisp Chickpeas

This NY Times recipe was a huge winner in our house this week. The blended cashews in this dressing was what gave this salad the delicious punch it needed and the croutons and chickpeas were just the right amount of crunch and spice! I didn't have the miso on hand so skipped on that but didn't notice.
Note: our home is gluten-free so I traded out the sourdough for a GF seedy bread. To make it extra yum I sprinkled on some herbs de provence.

FOR THE SALAD:

½ small loaf crusty bread, such as sourdough, torn into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)\

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 (14-ounce) can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and thoroughly dried

1 large bunch lacinato kale, stems removed and roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups)

1 large head romaine lettuce, roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces (about 6 cups)

FOR THE DRESSING:

1 cup whole (unroasted) cashews

1 snack-size (2-by-3-inch) sheet roasted nori, crumbled (optional)

¼ cup nutritional yeast, plus more for serving

¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 to 2 lemons)

3 garlic cloves

2 teaspoons brine from a jar of capers

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

DIRECTIONS:

Step 1

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. On a medium baking sheet, toss the bread with 2 tablespoons olive oil; season generously with salt and pepper.

On a second baking sheet, toss the chickpeas with remaining 2 tablespoons oil; season generously with salt and pepper.

Bake both until chickpeas and croutons are browned and crisp, stirring both halfway through, about 10 minutes for the croutons and 20 minutes for the chickpeas. Set aside.

Step 2

While the chickpeas and croutons roast, prepare your dressing: To a high-speed blender, add all the dressing ingredients, plus 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 3/4 cup water; blend until completely smooth, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula every now and again. Set dressing aside. (You should have 1 1/2 cups). Step 3 In a large bowl, add the kale and the dressing. Using your hands, massage the kale until slightly softened. Add the lettuce, croutons and half the roasted chickpeas; toss to coat and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle with additional nutritional yeast. Top with remaining roasted chickpeas; grind black pepper over, and serve immediately