Superfood Sweet Potato & Kale Salad
Kale Salad is a wonderful way to celebrate this often unappreciated vegetable. Combining fresh ingredients and a tangy, vibrant dressing this specific Kale Salad is filling enough to satisfy a vegetarian palate and delicious enough to entice the carnivores to join in!
There is added crunch from the pumpkin seeds and smoked almonds, vibrance from the orange zest and the sweet pop of currants drenched in a tart balsamic dressing.
Kale gets a bad reputation for being bitter and is susceptible to overcooking. By serving it raw with a tangy citrus dressing to cut through the bitterness, the Kale in this salad really contributes to depth of flavour and nutritional boost.
But, it’s not just Kale Salad. There is plenty of contribution from the light and fluffy Quinoa and the caramel notes brought in from the gently roasted sweet potato chunks to make this salad truly special.
For more side dishes and salads, you can either check out our full salad collection or visit our archive of other side dishes.
Superfood Sweet Potato & Kale Salad
Preheat oven to 180oC and line a large baking tray with baking / parchment paper.
Wash the sweet potato and dice into small even chunks. roughly 2-3cm cubes.
Arrange potatoes on tray and drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper. Use your hands to toss the potatoes and ensure they are well covered in the oil and then roast in the oven 30mins or until golden.
While potatoes are cooking, put 1 cup quinoa in a medium saucepan (you’ll need one with a lid). Add two cups room temperature water to the pot with the quinoa and bring to a boil over medium heat.
Put on the lid and turn the heat on the quinoa down to low to simmer for 12 minutes , then move the pan off the heat to steam while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
Get the kale, a knife and a chopping board and start removing the hard stems. I find it easiest to fold a leaf of kale in half so the stem forms a spine that can be chopped out in one cut. Rinse the kale leaves well in a colander and dry with paper towel.
Scrunch the Kale into a ball and finely slice - this will give you shreds, set this aside in a salad bowl while you prepare the dressing.
In a small saucepan, add the zest of half your orange, then halve and add the juice from one half of the orange. Add to the saucepan the sugar, currants and balsamic vinegar and stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves.
Once all the elements are ready, toss to combine the dressing, sweet potato, kale & quinoa. Garnish with the smoked almonds, pepitas & sunflower seeds.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 180oC and line a large baking tray with baking / parchment paper.
Wash the sweet potato and dice into small even chunks. roughly 2-3cm cubes.
Arrange potatoes on tray and drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper. Use your hands to toss the potatoes and ensure they are well covered in the oil and then roast in the oven 30mins or until golden.
While potatoes are cooking, put 1 cup quinoa in a medium saucepan (you’ll need one with a lid). Add two cups room temperature water to the pot with the quinoa and bring to a boil over medium heat.
Put on the lid and turn the heat on the quinoa down to low to simmer for 12 minutes , then move the pan off the heat to steam while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
Get the kale, a knife and a chopping board and start removing the hard stems. I find it easiest to fold a leaf of kale in half so the stem forms a spine that can be chopped out in one cut. Rinse the kale leaves well in a colander and dry with paper towel.
Scrunch the Kale into a ball and finely slice - this will give you shreds, set this aside in a salad bowl while you prepare the dressing.
In a small saucepan, add the zest of half your orange, then halve and add the juice from one half of the orange. Add to the saucepan the sugar, currants and balsamic vinegar and stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves.
Once all the elements are ready, toss to combine the dressing, sweet potato, kale & quinoa. Garnish with the smoked almonds, pepitas & sunflower seeds.
Notes
Recipe Notes
You can use regular or salted almonds. The Salad will be missing a layer of flavour without the salty smoked almonds. You could sub in a little bit of fried smoked bacon for a treat and to boost the salty smokey flavour. Otherwise, with plain roasted almonds would be fine, but you might need to season the salad with a sprinkling of salt.
Currants in this recipe can be substituted for Raisins or Sultanas. In the recipe pictured I’ve actually used golden sultanas as our local farmers market had them for sale. If you’re really against sultanas and raisins you can substitute fresh grapes or avoid completely.
Crinkly varieties like Scotch Kale work best. Make sure you pick a bunch that looks fresh and firm, not wilted or yellowing. Tuscan Kale is less suitable for this salad as the leaves are thicker and flatter.
Key Ingredients
I am not a lover of Kale however this recipe has given me a new appreciation of the vegetable. Great flavour combination.
Thanks for commenting! I know how much you don’t like Kale, so I’m glad you enjoyed this Salad. I think the orange helps balance the bitterness. Xx