ROASTED DELICATA AND KALE SALAD WITH A MAPLE TAHINI DRESSING
Photographer and creative director, my friend: @theeternalchild
If you guys haven't checked out my friend @theeternalchild, please do because she helps me create quick easy recipes that are super healthy and I actually end up loving them and making them again.
This time we linked up we decided that we wanted to do a huge healthy salad that had tons of nutrients and plant based protein AND to top it off (literally) we wanted to make a light, homemade dressing that was quick and easy.
The prep was simple, especially if you're enjoying some wine while you do it ;)
We were so surprised with how delicious it was that we couldn't stop eating it , HA. I was legit so full actually AND we had plenty of leftovers which was great because then I was able to take it to work and bring the dressing on the side. WINNING!
Alright, let's get into it right quiiiicccccck.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 BAG OF DARK LEAFY GREEN KALE
- 1 RED ONION
- 1 HEAD OR 1 BAG OF CHOPPED CAULIFLOWER
- 1 CAN OF GARBANZO BEANS, DRAINED
- 1/4 CUP OF PUMPKIN SEEDS
- 1 LEMON
- 2 DELICATA SQUASH
- GARLIC OLIVE OIL
- ONION POWDER
- GARLIC POWDER
- SEA SALT
DRESSING:
- 1/2 A LEMON
- 1/2 TSP TAHINI
- 1/2 TSP MAPLE SYRUP
- 1/2 TSP APPLE JUICE
- 1/2 TSP APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
- SEA SALT
- SERVES 4
DIRECTIONS
1. Set your oven to BAKE at 405-degrees F.
2. Slice your squash into rings and scoop out the seeds. Then cut each of them into half.
3. Peel the onion and cut it in half and then into fourths.
4. Dress a baking pan with garlic olive oil and lay the squash out flat with the onions, drained garbanzo beans, and cauliflower. (We used two baking sheets for this).
5. Sprinkle to your liking with sea salt, onion powder, more garlic olive oil and garlic powder.
6. Place in the oven to cook for 30 minutes, making sure that you're checking them and stirring them every 10 minutes :)
7. While that is cooking, prepare a large bowl with kale. Squeeze 1/2-1 whole lemon into the kale and massage the kale for appx. 4-5 minutes.
PREPARE THE DRESSING: Simply add all of the ingredients into a small mixing bowl and whisk it with a fork until it is a smooth, creamy texture.
Once your veggies are done, add them to your bowl of kale, sprinkle with pumpkin seeds, add dressing and enjoy!
SUMMER APPLE AND FENNEL SALAD
Is it okay if we squeeze in one more crisp and light salad before summer officially ends?
Even though I'm BEYOND ready for fall (ughhhhhh sweaters at all times, yes pleaseeee) I still think that this salad needs a mention.
ALSO. I'm super down to pair it with a butternut squash soup. Festive! Annnnnd did I mention it comes with a easy home made dressing??
Okay, so.
It's as easy as it looks.
The only trick here is that you're going to want to invest in this litttttlle tiny amazing kitchen tool called a mandolin. I've seen these in bars, I've seen them in restaurants and of course, my friend who's a chef in San Diego has like 3 in his kitchen
THEY. ARE. EPIC.
It's basically a little razor blade that you can use to turn anything into thinly sliced pieces.
Cool right? For example, fennel is amazing but it has a prettttty intense taste to it. So if you want a little bit of the taste but don't want to feel like you're biting right into a bulb of fennel, you use a mandolin.
Same thing for the apples...we didn't want overwhelming bites of crunch, we just wanted to add a little flava flaaav.
But I mean, these things are even great if you want to chop up a cucumber really quick and make a cucumber salad or make thinly sliced potato chips from a potato! There's seriously like a million things you can do with it and you can find them for cheap.
I'll leave a link at the bottom! You want to go for one that's around 20 dollars. The mega cheap ones have a shitty blade and will pretty much be useless.
Okay, other than that, here's what you'll need:
+ 1 Green Apple
+ 1 Bulb Fennel (They literally sell just the bulbs at Trader Joe's)
+ 2 Cups Baby Arugula
+ 1/4 Cup Pomegranate Seeds
+ 1/2 Red Onion (Thinly Sliced)
+ Garnish with slivered Almonds
DRESSING:
+ 1/2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
+ 2 Tablespoons EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
+ 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice (They sell Fresh Lemon Juice at Whole Foods Called Santa Cruz, that we really like)
+ 2 TBS Freshly Squeezed OJ
+ Sea salt and Black pepper
What to do:
Luckily this salad is pretty straight forward. Use your mandolin to shave the green apple, red onion and the fennel. Place it on top of the arugula, sprinkle in some pom seeds, add all your shaved fruits and veggies, then top off with some almonds.
For the dressing, you can just blend it together or whisk it, and then pour it on your salad and voila!
What I like about this recipe too is that everything for the salad is cheap and whatever you don't use, you can just put it in a little baggy and save it for the next time you have the salad!
(The second one is always the best because everything is already chopped up and prepared!)
Buy a mandolin, TRUST me.
Find more recipes like this on instagram @mccauleytawpash :)!
SUPER EASY THREE BEAN & CILANTRO RICE SALAD
Okay guys - this is my new obsession.
Okay guys - this is my new obsession. I made this a few weeks ago before one of the NBA Finals Games and it fed me, my friend Nikki, and my boyfriend...and me and Nikki had like 3 servings each haha oops..
And then it fed me for lunch for like next 6 days so it's a SOLID lunch or dinner option and it's sooo cheap and easy and refreshing I LOVE IT.
It almost reminds me of that cilantro black bean rice combo they have at chiptole so you know that's a good sign. I also featured this in my post on How To Go Grocery Shopping For Under 60.00 Bucks A Week because the cost of ingredients for this is NOTHING and it makes SO MUCH.
Okay let's get to it yeah?
Here's What You'll Need:
Salad:
- 2 Cups Cooked Wild Rice ( Use any healthy grain you'd like. I used a rice and quinoa blend from Costco but I feel like it would also be good with just quinoa or cous cous.)
- 1 Can White Kidney Beans (drained & rinsed)
- 1 Can Black Beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 Can Garbanzo Beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1/4 Cup Diced Red Onion
- 1/2 Cup Chopped Cilantro
- 1/2 Lemon, squeezed.
Dressing:
- 3 TBS red wine vinegar
- 2 TBS Olive Oil
- 4 TBS Stevia
- 1/2 Lemon, Squeezed
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
OPTIONAL:
- Sriracha and Avocado ( i put these two things on my individual salad before eating it and it totally pulled everything together!)
What to do:
1. Follow the instructions on the bag for your grain that you're using and cook that while you prepare the salad and dressing.
2. Drain and rinse all the beans and pour them all into a big bowl
3. Chop up your onion and cilantro and toss that into the bowl
4. Add 2 cups of cooked grains
5. Squueze in 1/2 lemon, mix everything together and set in the fridge to cool.
For the dressing:
1. Mix all the ingredients together in a small dish and set in the fridge.
(I poured a little dressing on my individual bowl when i was ready to eat it rather than dumping the entire thing in the salad but, it's up to you!)
Sounds good right?! Leave your comments below:)