Autumn Kale Salad with Creamy Dressing
Notes: another delicious version of a kale salad, with a creamy dressing (made with zero cream or dairy). And a salad that you can top with so many different things. I love the combo of roasted sweet potato/squash, avocado, quinoa, sweet pumpkin seeds or roasted sunflower seeds, and maybe a sprinkle of feta or parm on top. Other fun additions could be: adding shredded cabbage and carrots to the mix, grated red onion, lentils, white beans, garbanzo beans, pomegranate seeds, grilled chicken, hard boiled eggs, 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:
- 2 heads kale, stems removed and leaves torn curly kale, not lacinato
- 1/2 cup cooked quinoa see below (or 2 cups shredded cabbage)
- 1 medium roasted squash or sweet potato see below (or 1 cup shredded carrots)
- 1/2-1 medium avocado (optional)
- 1-2 tbsp pumpkin seeds (optional) or sunflower seeds
For the Creamy Dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup tahini stirred well first
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1/4 cup water to blend (or add more as needed in 1 tb amounts)
- 1 tsp each of salt and pepper
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp tamari
Instructions
CAN BE DONE AHEAD OF TIME:
- Cook quinoa first (this will give you double the quinoa to have more for leftovers the next day too: Add 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce heat to low and cover with a lid until all the water is absorbed (approx 7-9 minutes). Let cool.
- Cook sweet potato/squash if using. Preheat oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place cubed/cut squash or sweet potato pieces on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Rub in with your hands so everything is coated well. Roast for 20 minutes until pieces are soft enough to poke with a fork.
The dressing:
- Combine all ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth, adding water as you go if needed and dressing gets too thick in 1 tb increments. 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 in the quinoa, sweet potato, avocado, seeds, etc. If you want to have leftovers, just add the dressing to the kale and store in the fridge for 1-2 days, adding the toppings on right before eating.