Fall Kale Salad with Tahini-Maple Dressing
This fall kale salad has truly been my go-to this September & October. It’s the perfect mix of sweet and savory, and as with all my favorite salads, easy to mix and match what you have on hand to use up. Cheeses, nuts, odds & ends from your latest produce box delivery… they can all find their home in this salad thanks to my maple-tahini dressing. When I first posted an IG story mentioning this dressing, I got quite the response! Then I made the salad again and posted it again… and even more comments and questions. Who knew the combination would be so tantalizing? I really love nutty, earthy tahini, and adding just a hint of maple for that fall flair… *chefs kiss*
I’ve seriously been meal prepping this for lunches practically nonstop and I’ve also brought it to a few distanced mini-potlucks. Crowd pleaser near and far. I started using sunflower seeds as my crunch, but then I discovered Trader Joe's maple almonds and those might be a new winner. Oh and speaking of nuts… if you’re allergic to sesame and can’t use tahini, I recommend subbing almond butter!
Fall Kale Salad with Roasted Veg + Tahini-Maple Dressing
Serves 6
Salad Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 shallot, thinly sliced (you could also use 1/2 red onion)
1 head lacinato kale, destemmed
1 avocado, diced
2 oz goat cheese (optional)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, almonds, or your nut/seed of choice!
Dressing Ingredients:
1 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
juice from one lemon
warm water to thin as needed
This truly could not be easier!
Toss the Brussels, sweet potatoes, shallot/onion, and mushrooms in olive oil and season liberally with good S&P. Pop them in a 425° oven for about 25-30 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and the Brussels have a nice, crispy golden hue. Remove from the oven and let cool.
In the meantime, mix all the dressing ingredients together! You could whisk them in a bowl but I usually just aggressively shake it all up in a mason jar. As mentioned, depending on the thickness of your tahini you may want to thin out with warm water. As with all homemade dressings, I recommend taste testing and modifying the ratio of sweet/salty/acid/fat as you prefer!
Roughly chop (or rip with your hands, my method) the kale into a big salad bowl. Add the avocado. And crumble in the goat cheese if you’re using that; you can also play around with different cheeses, whatever you have on hand - I am very open-minded when it comes to application of cheese so don’t let my goat cheese suggestion stop you from living your truth.
It’s up to you whether you want to serve this as a warm salad or cold salad. If warm and you’re serving immediately, toss in the roasted veg while they’re still warm, add the dressing and nuts/seeds, give it a good toss, then serve! If you’re prepping in advance and will serve the salad cold later, let the roasted veg cool all the way before tossing - but lacinato kale is very hardy and can stand up to this dressing, so you can totally put it all together, let it sit overnight, and it will still be good for lunch or dinner the next day.
