Killer Kale Caesar Salad

This Killer Kale Caesar Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Crunchy chickpeas is soooooo good. That’s all! Make it! It’s awesome and probably better than whatever sad salad you are making right now. It’s literally made of 6 components and 2 of those just need to be sliced + the dressing. This is a great side to any meal and will definitely be a regular at your house. PLUS you can make this with whatever variations you want. Give kale a chance but if you prefer a more traditional green like Romaine try that. Instead of the chickpeas make some croutons with toasted crusty bread. Try almonds, raisins whatever you like. Make it your own!

Here is what is in our Killer Kale Caesar Salad

1. Crunchy Chickpeas & Roasted Sweet Potatoes

These are two of the components in our Killer Kale Caesar Salad. They are cooked at the same time but prepared sepratley.

If you have not been introduced to the miracle that is the crunchy chickpea, here is a crash course. All your need is a can of drained chickpeas, roast them in the oven to dry them out, then add whatever spice blend you want. Throw them in an airtight jar and you have a crunchy salty snack whenever you want. Here is how to make them.

Preheat your oven to 200°C.

Drain the chickpeas and rinse well under some cool water. Dump them out onto a kitchen towel and gently roll the chickpeas to dry. Some skin might come off that’s fine. Place the chickpeas in a small bowl and mix with 2 tbsp of olive oil (don’t add seasoning).

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Prep your sweet potatoes. Cut them into 1.5 cm rounds. Place them in a bowl with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Give them a mix.

Roll up a piece of aluminum foil to act as a barrier in your baking sheet so we have two separate roasting zones. This makes the process of flipping the sweet potatoes and moving the chick peas around easier.

Spread chickpeas on one half of the roasting sheet. Place the roasted potatoes on the second half of the roasting sheet.

Place in your preheated oven. After 25 minutes flip sweet potatoes over and move your chickpeas around so that they roast on both sides evenly. Place back in the oven for another 20 minutes or until both have browned nicely. Remove from the oven. Place the chickpeas in a bowl and while they are still warm season them with salt and pepper.

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2. Kale

Kale is an often misunderstood leafy green. People don’t know how to prep it properly and they are left with bitter tough greens. We are here to change all that. First, we need to remove the kale from their stalks. You can either use a knife and cut around the stalk or run your hand down the stalk, the leaves should mostly come off.

Fill a very large bowl with some cold water, your sink could work for this also. Dump in all your Kale then submerge them into the water and move it around a bit to loosen any dirt. Remove kale and place in a colander give it one more rinse under cool water, then lay it out on some towels to dry. If you have a salad spinner, spin the kale in batches to dry them off quicker.

After it has properly dried, place it in a large bowl, add olive oil, lemon, salt, and proceed to massage the kale well. Spend a good 3-5 minutes doing this, you will visibly see the kale relax and take up less space in the bowl. Set aside.

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3. Parmesan Cheese

Parmesan Cheese is one of our favorite types of cheese. It has such a strong, bold, salty, flavor. It goes great in a salad. We use Parmesan Cheese twice in this recipe. Once, finely grated with a micro grater ( in the dressing), and once shaved on top using a vegetable peeler.

5. Apples (optional)

Apples add a nice fresh sweet/tart crunch to this salad. Use whatever variety you like. We have been waiting for a chance to use these Pink Pearls we found in Dubai. They are sweet, slightly tart, and surprise they are pink inside. Absolute stunners, but any apple will do.

4. Killer Kale Caesar Salad Dressing

This is a quick and easy Caesar Dressing that hits all the right notes. Garlicky, salty, lemony, creamy, just perfect. Let’s talk about anchovies. We promise almost every Caesar salad you had at a restaurant most likely had anchovies in the dressing. So do not be scared to use it, we promise if prepped properly you will not be able to tell. Dalya is not a fish person but loves this dressing. The trick is to either use anchovy paste or one anchovy from a jar. You will need to completely chop it up into a paste. Use the back of your knife as you chop to smash the anchovy down. Then proceed to chop, do this a couple of times until a paste has formed.

Ingredients:

• anchovy paste or 1 anchovy fillet (jarred) diced to a paste
• mayonnaise
• freshly grated parmesan (finely)
• Worcestershire sauce
• garlic grated or minced very finely (use the back of your knife to smash the garlic down and continue to chop)
• freshly squeezed lemon juice
• dijon mustard

in a medium bowl, whisk together garlic, anchovy paste, lemon juice, dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Add mayonnaise, grated parmesan, salt, and pepper, whisk to combine. That’s it! This lasts up to a week in the fridge in a sealed container.

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Assembling our Killer Kale Caesar Salad

Add the dressing to the kale in batches and mix well (use your hands it’s the best way to dress a salad). Use as much or as little as you like, any extra dressing can be placed in the fridge for up to a week.

Place the sweet potatoes and sliced apples on top.

Sprinkle on the roasted chickpeas.

Shave on some extra parmesan.

That’s it! That’s our Killer Kale Caesar Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Crunchy Chickpeas! If you make this salad let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #thetablediaries on Instagram. We love seeing all the recipes you and your family enjoy.