Baked kale salad with roasted sweet potatoes, spicy baked chickpeas and fresh pear

Baked kale salad with roasted sweet potatoes, spicy baked chickpeas and fresh pear

A hearty autumn salad that’s packed with healthy ingredients and served with a lovely cashew and herb dressing. Baked kale salad with roasted sweet potatoes, spicy baked chickpeas and fresh pear is just as loaded with nutrient as it is with flavour.

Recipe by Illanique van Aswegen

Photograph by Adel Ferreira 

INGREDIENTS

BAKED CHICKPEAS

• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained
• 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1 tbsp chermoula spice
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

SWEET POTATO WEDGES

• 2 (about 550g) sweet potatoes, washed
• 5ml (1 tsp) olive oil

BAKED KALE 

• 110g kale leaves, torn into chunks
• 4 tsp coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp mustard powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• Pinch freshly ground black pepper

CASHEW AND HERB DRESSING 

• ½ cup orange juice
• zest of 1 lemon
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup raw cashews
• ¼ cup chives
• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 tsp garlic, finely chopped

SALAD

• 2 pears, thinly sliced
• 1½ (about 400g) large avocados, chopped
• Handful microherbs

METHOD

BAKED CHICKPEAS

PRHEAT the oven to 160°C. Wash the chickpeas and pat dry with paper towel. Toss with the coconut oil, chermoula spice and sugar. Season to taste and bake in the oven until the chickpeas are crispy, 40 – 45 minutes.

SWEET POTATO WEDGES

INCREASE the oven temperature to 190°C. Cut the sweet potatoes into thin wedges and toss in the olive oil. Season to taste, arrange on a baking tray and bake until tender, 30 – 45 minutes. Leave the oven on.

BAKED KALE 

TOSS everything together and spread it out in single layers over 2 baking trays. Bake in the oven until crispy, 8 – 10 minutes.

CASHEW AND HERB DRESSING 

PLACE everything in a food processor and blend until smooth. Season to taste.

TO ASSEMBLE the salad, scatter half of the baked kale into the salad bowl. Add the sweet potatoes, then the remaining kale leaves. Top with the pear slices, avocado and chickpeas. Scatter over the microherbs and serve with the dressing on the side.

Print Recipe

Baked kale salad with roasted sweet potatoes, spicy baked chickpeas and fresh pear

Serves: 4

Cooking Time: 1 hr 45 mins

Ingredients

• Baked chickpeas

• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained
• 15ml (1 tbsp) coconut oil, melted
• 15ml (1 tbsp) chermoula spice
• 5ml (1 tsp) sugar
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• Sweet potato wedges

• 2 (about 550g) sweet potatoes, washed
• 5ml (1 tsp) olive oil

• Baked kale

• 110g kale leaves, torn into chunks
• 20ml (4 tsp) coconut oil, melted
• 5ml (1 tsp) paprika
• 2,5ml (½ tsp) mustard powder
• 1,25ml (¼ tsp) salt
• pinch freshly ground black pepper

• Cashew and herb dressing

• 125ml (½ cup) orange juice
• zest of 1 lemon
• 60ml (¼ cup) lemon juice
• 60ml (¼ cup) olive oil
• 60ml (¼ cup) raw cashews
• 60ml (¼ cup) chives
• 15ml (1 tbsp) wholegrain mustard
• 5ml (1 tsp) garlic, finely chopped

• Salad

• 2 pears, thinly sliced
• 1½ (about 400g) large avocados, chopped
• handful microherbs

Instructions

For the baked chickpeas

1

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Wash the chickpeas and pat dry with paper towel. Toss with the coconut oil, chermoula spice and sugar. Season to taste and bake in the oven until the chickpeas are crispy, 40 – 45 minutes.

For the sweet-potato wedges,

2

Increase the oven temperature to 190°C. Cut the sweet potatoes into thin wedges and toss in the olive oil. Season to taste, arrange on a baking tray and bake until tender, 30 – 45 minutes. Leave the oven on.

For the baked kale

3

Toss everything together and spread it out in single layers over 2 baking trays. Bake in the oven until crispy, 8 – 10 minutes.

For the dressing

4

Place everything in a food processor and blend until smooth. Season to taste.

To assemble the salad

5

Scatter half of the baked kale into the salad bowl. Add the sweet potatoes, then the remaining kale leaves. Top with the pear slices, avocado and chickpeas. Scatter over the microherbs and serve with the dressing on the side.

Notes

Cook's tip: For a non-vegan alternative, chopped-up Camembert, fresh buffalo mozzarella, fior di latte, goat’s cheese or ricotta will work well with the rest of the salad. If you have trouble finding chermoula spice, simply replace it with another Moroccan spice, like ras el hanout or za’atar.

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ALSO SEE:https://www.foodandhome.co.za/recipes/avocado-sushi-salad-platter

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