Maple Tahini Shredded Kale Salad
Notes: another delicious version of a kale salad, that you can top with so many different things: roasted squash or sweet potato, other roasted veggies, white beans, lentils, grilled chicken, hard boiled eggs, avocado etc. Use whatever you have on hand. Other great additions can be pumpkin seeds, slivered almonds, crumbled feta or goat cheese, etc. It can be a meal in itself dressed up, or kept simple and pared down for a easy side dish. This dressing will make more than you need, so store the extra in the fridge in a sealed container. It's great on other lettuces, mixed into quinoa, or as a marinade for chicken too.
Ingredients
For the Kale Salad:
- 1 head kale curly kale, not lacinato
- 1/2 cup white beans or cooked lentils rinsed and drained (optional)
- 1/2-1 medium avocado (optional)
- 1/2 head fennel thinly sliced (optional)
- 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds (optional)
For the Maple-Tahini Dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 5 tbsp tahini
- 2-3 tbsp maple syrup 2 for a balanced dressing, 3 tb for a sweeter one
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 tbsp water to blend
- 1 tsp each of salt and pepper
Instructions
For the dressing:
- Combine all ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth, adding water as you go if needed and dressing gets too thick. Store in a sealed container in the fridge (you will have extra).
For the salad:
- Wash kale leaves. Strip out stems and fine chop (or tear) kale leaves and add to a mixing bowl. Dry well with a paper towel. Pour dressing over the top (using the amount of your preference). Use clean hands to massage the dressing in, then add the white beans, shaved fennel, avocado and pumpkin seeds (or whatever other toppings you'd like) to serve. Can be assembled ahead of time (with or without the dressing, depending what texture you prefer).