Monday, February 9, 2015

{Meatless Monday} Golden Kale Tahini Salad

We hit a milestone last week.

Golden Kale Tahini Salad: This salad combines silky kale greens with the creamy tahini dressing, spicy roasted garbanzo beans and sweet golden raisins

Evan and I chose our wedding menu. 

Spicy Roasted Garbanzo Beans

We both had such a fun time munching on a variety of dishes and making the final decision for what our friends and family will be eating on evening of our wedding. It feels like the right balance of heavier dishes (hello, mashed potatoes!) and lighter ones (I’m looking at you, roasted veggies).

Golden Kale Tahini Salad: This salad combines silky kale greens with the creamy tahini dressing, spicy roasted garbanzo beans and sweet golden raisins


But, choosing the menu isn’t the milestone I’m talking about. During the tasting, we discovered a kale salad that actually got the seal of approval from my not-so-kale-loving fiancé.

I’m really excited about it. So much so that I even attempted to create my own version of the recipe over the weekend.

Golden Kale Tahini Salad: This salad combines silky kale greens with the creamy tahini dressing, spicy roasted garbanzo beans and sweet golden raisins


Kale salads have the really wonderful ability to hold up as leftovers throughout the week; they don’t get wilty like other salad greens. In fact, they do just the opposite  they keep on getting better and better. 


This salad combines silky kale greens with the creamy tahini dressing, spicy roasted garbanzo beans and sweet golden raisins – it’s no wonder it got two thumbs up from even a non-kale lover! 

Golden Kale Tahini Salad



Golden Kale Tahini Salad: This salad combines silky kale greens with the creamy tahini dressing, spicy roasted garbanzo beans and sweet golden raisins

Ingredients:
5 cups kale, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch of sea salt
1 cup gold raisins
2 Persian cucumbers, sliced
2 avocados, chopped

For the Roasted Garbanzo Beans:
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
pinch of sea salt


For the Lemon Tahini Dressing:
The juice from one lemon
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons tahini
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1.     Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2.     First prep the garbanzo beans. In a medium bowl, combine the garbanzo beans, olive oil, cumin, cayenne pepper, and sea salt. Spread the garbanzo beans on an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, stirring once half-way through baking.
Spicy Roasted Garbanzo Beans

3.     While the garbanzo beans are roasting, place the kale in a large bowl with the olive oil and sea salt. Gently massage the kale with your hands to tenderize the leaves (it helps to lessen the bitter flavor).
4.     Next, prepare the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, water, tahini, and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
5.     Once the garbanzo beans have finished roasting, add the raisins, cucumbers, avocados, and garbanzo beans to the kale.
6.     Top the salad with the dressing and toss.

Enjoy, preferably with those you love.

4 comments:

  1. This is such a gorgeous salad! I love all of the components and I'm sure the chickpeas add an awesome crunch factor!

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  2. I've been wanting to do a tahini dressing and love how simple yours looks. The whole kale/chickpea/golden raisin combo sounds perfect.

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  3. This salad looks so yummy- I love to use kale in place of lettuce because I can actually eat the leftovers the next day (yay for no wilting!) I'm going to have to make this soon.

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