Ingredients
Roast veg:
Pumpkin or butternut or sweet potatoes – we used a quarter of a pumpkin and one medium purple sweet potato.
1 400g can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried thoroughly with a tea towel
Olive oil, a few glugs
Big pinch on cinnamon
Salt and pepper
Herby sauce:
Walnuts, about a cup, toasted. You could also use a similar amount of almonds or 1/2 cup pine nuts
A bunch – about 60g herbs such as parsley, dill or basil
Big handful – about 30g roquette
1 small clove of garlic, grated. You could leave this out or use garlic infused oil if you’re taking a low FODMAP route.
Olive oil, 1/4 cup or more
Juice of 1/2 large lemon
Salt and pepper
Salad:
A small bunch green (curly) kale, leaves removed and torn into bitesize pieces, stems discarded
Juice of 1/2 large lemon
Olive oil, a few glugs
Salt and pepper
1 avocado
Cheese – you could do fried halloumi, or feta, or goats curd or parmesan or tempeh or skip the cheese all together
Summary
We know kale isn’t for everyone, but have you tried massaging it gently with lemon and olive oil? It goes from sturdy to tender which allows it to be used in this hearty winter salad. It’s yummiest made fresh with warm roast veg, chickpeas and halloumi, but left overs make a pretty darn good work lunch situation!
A Winter Salad
Roast veg: Preheat oven to 220 degrees C. Cut your veg into chunks and spread evenly over an oven tray (don’t crowd the tray!). Drizzle liberally with olive oil, salt, pepper and a pinch of cinnamon. Toss to coat evenly. Roast veg for an hour or more, turning them every so often until everything is crispy and caramelised. On a seperate tray, toss your chickpeas in oil and salt and pepper. Roast simultaneously until golden and crunchy, they usually take a little less time than the veg.
Pesto: Bung everything in a food processor and whizz to desired texture. we left ours going for about 3 mins, stopping to scrape the bowl and adding oil and a bit of water to loosen it. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Salad time: Combine lemon juice, oil and salt and pepper in a small bowl and then pour it evenly over the kale. Using your hands, massage the dressing into the kale for a couple of minutes until it’s tender. Top kale with roast veg, chickpeas, chucks of avocado, cheese (if using) and dot the pesto over the top.
Hints and Tips
This recipe was inspired by a combination of recipes by George Eats.
Hi, I tried to make this for a family dinner. I saw that I could prepare the veggies ahead of time, so I roasted them and popped them in the fridge. When it came time to serve, I pulled the veggies out of the fridge and put them on top of the kale that I’d prepared as the recipe says. I added the pesto and served it up as a cold salad. My guests said they liked it, but I thought it was a bit meh, and I was disappointed.
I had leftovers which I warmed up for myself a couple of days later, and it was delicious! So I’m wondering if I misunderstood the instructions about “prep ahead” and “assemble throughout the week”. Should it all get heated before serving?
Would love your input so I can do a better job of it next time round.
Thanks.
Hi Helene, we’re sorry to hear this salad was disappointing first time round when it was cold. We’ve tried it both with warm veg, and cold and enjoy it in both instances but perhaps when cooking it in more of a dinner party environment (rather than work lunches) the roast veg and chickpeas would be better right out of the oven – the crispy caramelised edges would pop a bit more! We’ve never had it warmed up entirely as you described but we’re happy to know it was a success. Thanks for this comment, it’s always really helpful to get feedback and we’ll edit the recipe to help others get their desired result!