The kale in the garden has finally coming back to life with the cooler weather after the good down pour or rain last week. Which means it is time to start picking like mad again. I often get asked what to do with kale and my first answer is always kale chips however I use it just like silverbeet or cabbage.
This is a simple recipe I whipped up in thirty minutes including cooking the quinoa. I love any meal that I can quickly put together and tastes great. At the moment we are doing cupboard cooking challenges, as we are moving out it is time to start cleaning out the cupboards of unnecessary items, like the seven tins of chickpeas I have.
Lily (Roy’s sister) is staying with us this week to visit Isla for her first birthday – party will be on the weekend. Nothing fancy just a picnic with a pot luck under the gum trees on our property. Back to Lily, she is vegetarian which works perfect for cleaning out the cupboard of all those lentils, beans and other crazy grains I have.
Roy and I often eat vego food at home especially when the garden is pumping. It is a nice change from eating meat and a bowl of this nourishing salad will fill any meat lover up with the addition of some cottage cheese.
The complex flavours, of nutty, creamy and the tartness of the balsamic make this a dish worth serving on its own.
- 1 bunch of kale
- olive oil
- 1½ tbsp of cumin seed
- 1 tbsp of sesame seed
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tin chickpeas (1 cup cooked)
- 1 cup quinoa, cooked
- handful of salad leaves (lettuce, baby spinach, finely chopped red cabbage)
- sml green apple, finely sliced
- 1 sml spring onion, finely sliced
- cottage cheese* (optional)
- balsamic vinegar
- Pre-heat your oven to 220'c and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Remove the stalks of the kale and then roughly shred the kale leaves. Spread evenly over the baking tray and drizzle a little olive oil. Bake in the oven for ten minutes or until crisp, turning every 1-2 minutes, making sure not to burn.
- Heat a fry pan over a medium heat and add the cumin seeds stirring till fragrant, add the sesame seeds and paprika and stir. Add the chickpeas along with a little olive oil and reduce heat and allow to cook for 5 minutes.
- Assemble the salad either on a large platter or in individual bowls. First lay down the salad leaves top with finely sliced apple, sprinkle over the cooked quinoa. Spread the cooked chickpeas over the top followed by the crispy kale. Finally scatter the spring onion over the salad.
- At this point you can serve or add a little cottage cheese on top.
- Drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar and tuck in.
4 Responses
I love this salad! My kind of dish. 😉 Although I’m a huge meat eater, too. I’d be inclined to add some cabbage to it — I’ve recently discovered that kale and cabbage are awesome when combined. Anyway, really nice recipe — thanks.
Thanks John, I have a little cabbage in there not much though. I promise as a meat eater you will love it.
That’s a great salad, Liz. I knew you were moving and I groaned at all the work you’ve put into that place – a lot of it all by yourself. Having a family where daddy comes home every day will be totally worth it.
Thanks Maureen. I am looking forward to the change the good and the bad.