kale, squash, chickpea & currant salad

I am mildly obsessed with this dish.  I first made a version of this for Thanksgiving, which I followed Sarah’s poppy seed-crusted butternut squash with kale and pomegranates.  When with the family last week, I made another version of it  where I added avocado, roasted chickpeas & dried cranberries and took out the poppy seeds, shallots and pomegranates.  Last night, I was craving the kale creation, yet again, so I made a third version:  kale, squash chickpea & currant salad. This serves 2-4 depending on the eaters.

The goods:

• 1 small bunch of kale- I have used all three varieties of kale and all taste great
• 1 medium size butternut squash- cubed
• 1 can of chickpeas (drained)- go for Eden organics because their cans are BPA free, they do not add salt and they package in kombu, which reduces the bean’s undesirable bloating effect.
• 1/3c currants or any dried fruit of your liking.  Honestly, I like the cranberries better than the currants
• 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 avocado
• 2T coconut oil (could use olive oil).  1T for roasting squash & 1T for roasting chickpeas.
• garlic powder (or 3-5 garlic cloves- minced) for roasting squash & chickpeas
• poppy seeds- optional
• sea salt
• rosemary- optional
• 2t maple syrup- for salad dressing
• 1T honey or dijon mustard- for salad dressing
• 1T olive oil- for salad dressing
• 1t  apple cider vinegar – used for salad dressing

How to:

1. pre heat oven to 400 for roasting squash & chickpeas
2. wash, peel, & cube butternut squash
3. drain chickpeas, rinse and dry.
4. coat cubed squash with 1T coco oil.  After covering squash in coco oil,  apply a sprinkling of poppy seeds (if using), garlic powder (or diced garlic cloves), and sea salt.  Massage squash with your hands to ensure an even coating of the seasoning.
5. coat chickpeas with 1T coco oil. After covering chickpeas with coco oil, apply a sprinkling of rosemary (if using), garlic powder (or minced garlic cloves), and sea salt.  Massage chickpeas with your hands to ensure  an even coating of the seasoning.
6. put both the squash and chickpeas on parchment lined baking sheets in the oven for 30-40 minutes.  Keep an eye on the chickpeas as they love to burn. Squash is done when it is tender.  Halfway through cooking stir the chickpeas and squash around to ensure a more even cook.
7. While chickpeas & squash are cooking, wash, de-stem and tear kale in to smaller pieces. Cover kale in lemon juice from fresh squeezed lemon, dash of sea salt and avocado. Massage kale with these ingredients until evenly coated to get kale nice and wilt-y.
8. Set kale aside and make dressing.  Combine maple syrup, mustard, olive oil & a dash of sea salt in a bowl then whisk all ingredients together.
9. After squash and chickpeas are done combine with kale, add currants then add dressing.  Mix all ingredients together and devour.
   

   roasted chickpeas

   

   wilt-y kale

   

   chickpeas, currants & kale

   

   roasted squash

   This dish is a perfect dish to get your veggies in and enjoy every second of it.

   My Ugi just arrived.  Oh boy!!

   

   Happy Wednesday!