Autumn Harvest Crunch Salad
Autumn Harvest Crunch Salad is tossed with roasted sweet potatoes, apples, fennel, cucumber and garlicky tahini dressing.
Servings: 5
Ingredients
For the Crunchy Chickpeas
- 1 can (15.5 0z) chickpeas heavily rinsed, drained, and completely dried in a tea towel
- 1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon zaatar seasoning
- ¼-½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- large pinch chili powder
For the Sweet Potato Bits:
- 1 large sweet potato about 400 grams, cut into ½-¾ inch bits
For the Tahini Dressing
- 2 teaspoons crushed garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons raw tahini
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup see notes
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- heavy pinch kosher salt
For the Kale Salad
- 4 cups very finely chopped lacinato/dinosaur kale
- 1½ cup baby lettuce cut into ribbons, or more kale instead
- 1 cup thinly sliced cucumber
- 1 apple sliced as thinly as possible
- ½ bulb fennel cut into thin matchsticks
- zaatar seasoning generous sprinkle, for serving
- flakey salt to season as desired
Instructions
For the Crunchy Chickpeas
- Preheat oven to 415 °F. You can use the convection setting if you have it.
- In a colander, thoroughly rinse chickpeas then pour them onto a clean dish towel.
- Gently pat the chickpeas dry with the dishtowel. They must be as dry as possible.
- Line a small cookie sheet (9×13 works great) with parchment paper.
- Pour the dried chickpeas onto the parchment paper in a pile. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and toss the chickpeas to fully coat them.
- Add the cumin, garlic powder, kosher salt, zaatar seasoning, smoked paprika and chili powder and toss the chickpeas to fully and evenly coat them in the spices. Spread the chickpeas out on the cookie sheet in an even layer.
- Put the cookie sheet in the oven for roughly 15-20 minutes until the chickpeas are fully roasted and nice and crunchy. Halfway through baking, give the chickpeas a stir. (Be careful! Sometimes one or two have a tendency to explode while roasting! You may here a few pops here and there.)
- Remove the chickpeas from the oven and allow them to cool for roughly 8-10 minutes before enjoying.
For the Sweet Potato Bits:
- Cut a sweet potato in ½ inch cubes. Toss with extra virgin olive oil and a bit of kosher salt and place on a parchment lines small cookie sheet.
- Roast the sweet potato bits in the oven at the same time as the chickpeas. Roast for 25-35 minutes, until the bits are tender and browned. Remove them from the oven and set aside.
For the Tahini Dressing:
- In a small jar with lid, combine all the dressing ingredients. Secure the lid tightly on the jar and shake really really well until full emulsified. Set Aside.
For the Kale Salad:
- In a large bowl, add the kale, baby lettuce, cucumber, apple, and fennel. Sprinkle in the cooled sweet potato bits and the crunchy chickpeas.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss for a about 40 seconds, until the dressing has worked it's way into all the crevises of the salad.
- Sprinkle the salad with zaatar and flaky salt, serve immediately, and enjoy!
Notes
Maple syrup: you can add an additional teaspoon to the dressing you like your dressing a little sweeter.
Make ahead: If you want to prep this salad ahead of time: Prep all the salad ingredients except for the apple (which needs to be sliced before assembling). Store the tahini dressing in a jar in the fridge separately. The chickpeas can be made a little ahead, but may lose their big crunch the longer they sit. Store them separately.