Sweet potato and feta salad
It's summer, yes — it really is still summer — so we wanted to share a tasty, healthy but light meal with you. Our resident food and expert, Lucy Pemberton-Platt has devised this delicious kale based recipe. Over to the chef...
This salad is delicious and really simple to make - it uses raw kale, (which may sound terrible but trust me it can be really amazing). The trick to getting kale right, is to soften the leaves which we do by massaging a dressing of olive oil, tahini, soya sauce and lemon juice, which then wilts the leaves as they absorb the incredible flavours. I know massaging your kale sounds even weirder than eating it raw, but trust me - this recipe makes the perfect light lunch, or side salad. If you wanted to make it a little more filling, or protein based, add a portion of quinoa.
Of all the super healthy greens, kale is the king. It is definitely one of the most nutritious plant foods in existence. It is packed with anti-oxidants, it is an excellent source of vitamin C and K as-well as having many minerals such as magnesium. Sweet potatoes are also a delicious way of staying healthy, they contain iron, potassium and vitamin B6.
The other amazing thing about this salad, is that it makes a great lunch. When the kale is marinated the night before, it has this lovely chewy texture by the time you come to eat it the next day - it doesn’t turn soggy like spinach or iceberg lettuce can when you add dressing.
Ingredients (per person)
- Four handfuls of Kale - 1 Sweet potato - 1/2 Avocado - 50g Cashew nuts - 50g Feta cheese - 4 Asparagus spears - A handful of Sundried tomatoes - A handful of Tenderstem broccoli
Salad dressing
- 1 tbsp Olive oil - 1 tbsp Tahini - 1 tsp Lemon juice - 1 tsp Soya sauce/tamari
Method
Heat the oven to 180 degrees. Start by slicing the sweet potato into thick wedges and then drizzle olive oil and salt evenly over them. Roast them in the oven for thirty - forty minutes, turning every ten minutes to make sure they are cooked evenly.
Then wash the kale, strip the leaves from the stems (discard the stems) and place the leaves into a bowl. Drizzle all the dressing ingredients onto the kale then use your hands to firmly start massaging it all into the leaves, as you do this you’ll feel the leaves soften and wilt. Keep massaging the kale for a few minutes to make sure they’re really soft. Leave this to one side for at least ten minutes.
Pan fry your broccoli and asparagus with olive oil and salt and add this to your kale leaves. Slice your avocado into chunks and add to the salad with the cashew nuts and cheese. Stir everything around evenly.
Finally add your sweet potatoes.
Optional: This salad is delicious hot - to heat it, pop the salad into the oven for an extra five minutes.