This is such a filling and autumnal salad. It has all the good stuff- sweet chewy dates, crispy chickpeas, fried almonds, and so many pita croutons. I love making this for Thanksgiving, and bonus- it can totally be prepped in advance. Double bonus, it’s completely vegan and spares animals.
by Molly Yeh
Ingredients
Dressing
Juice of 1 small lemon
3 tb (45g)
Red wine vinegar
1 tb (20g) date syrup
1/2 c (100g) olive oil
A few good pinches of sumac
Salt
Pepper
Salad
8 oz (226g) kale, de-stemmed and chopped
1 small (or half large) delicata squash, sliced into half moons
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 can crispy chickpeas, drained/rinsed/dried
1/2 c (70g) almonds
2 thick pita, torn
Sumac
1/2 c (70g) chopped pitted dates
Pickled onions
Toasted pumpkin seeds
Instructions
1. Add all dressing ingredients to a jar and shake vigorously to combine.
2. Put the kale in a large bowl and drizzle with some of the dressing. massage until softened.
3. Toss the delicata squash with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast at about 425ºf until browned and splotchy (start checking at like 15ish min).
4. Toss the chickpeas with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and air fry at 400ºf until crispy, 8ish min.
5. Heat a generous layer of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the almonds and fry for a few minutes until lightly golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and sprinkle with salt. once cool, coarsely chop.
6. To the same skillet, add the pita (and more olive oil, if needed) and fry for a few minutes until golden on the edges but still soft in the middle, remove and sprinkle with salt and sumac.
7. Top the kale with the squash, chickpeas, almonds, pita, dates, a few pickled onions, and a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds and toss with dressing to taste. taste and season with more salt and pepper until it’s really good.
Chantell and Brett Quernemoen
Molly Yeh
Molly Yeh is the New York Times bestselling author of Home Is Where The Eggs Are, Sweet Farm!, and Molly on the Range and the Emmy-nominated host of Food Network’s Girl Meets Farm. Along with her husband, Nick, she is the owner of Bernie’s, a bakery café in East Grand Forks, Minnesota.
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