Crunchy Chickpea Kale Salad is what you’ve been missing these past long fall nights. Nothing says comfort like a warm salad. This salad packs a punch with wilted kale, leeks, butternut squash, and brussels, topped with crunchy chickpeas and parmesan. Very similar to my other warm kale salad and yet so different. Try it and tell me what you think!
Tips For Making Crunchy Chickpea Kale Salad
Chickpeas
Chickpeas aka Garbanzo beans are made to be used like crunchy breadcrumbs. The best part is not only do they get perfectly crunchy, they have tons of protein. Feel free to use dry cooked chickpeas if you want but to save time I always use canned. Make sure if using canned you drain and rinse them well,
Once they are rinsed dry them with a towel and add them to your food processor. The goal is not to pulverize them. You want them to still have some texture so make sure you are only pulsing them for a couple of rounds, not blending them.
Season them well with oil, salt and pepper.
Butternut Squash
You can roast the squash and chickpeas together on the same pan.
When you are cutting the squash, cut the ends off first to make it level. I like to peel off the skin with a potato peeler. Lay the squash on its side on top of your cutting board and cut the bulb off. This will leave you with 2 pieces.
Stand each piece upright on their flat end on your cutting board and slice right down the middle. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds of the bulb end. You can discard the seeds, or set them aside and roast them.
Take each quarter (flat side down) and slice into strips. You can cut these as thick or thin as you’d like, though I usually keep them between 1/2 to 1-inch thick. Dice the squash into small uniformed 1 ” cubes and add them to the pan with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Kale
When cutting the kale, wash off the leaves and place them on top of each other. With the knife using a rolling motion from the top of the leaves to the stem. Cut into thin slices. Keep your non chopping hand on the kale as a guide the knife to make thin slices. Add to a large bowl when you are finished.
Brussels Sprouts
To slice the brussels sprouts, cut of the end stem to each one. Slice in half, and pull of the excess loose or brown leaves. Place the sprout flat side down and slice thinly using your non cutting hand to guide the knife. Remember to curl your fingers under and use your knuckles to guide the knife. Add to the bowl.
Leek
For the leek you want to make sure you wash it well. Dirt tends to get in the creases. Cut off the white end of the leek. You can keep the top part for making vegan vegetable stock. Slice the white part of the leek in half the long way. Put each leek half face down and cut the leek thinly. The should make thinly half moon ribbons. Add the leek to a small bowl of cold water to remove all the dirt off of them. Pat dry and add to the large bowl.
Cooking
Use a heavy skillet to wilt the vegetables. It should only take 2-3 minutes. Once the pan is hot add in the oil. Add all the vegetables at once and stir until you start to see the kale wilt and salt and pepper and remove from the stove.
In a bowl combine the greens, and squash. Add the dressing to it and mix together. Right before you serve you can add the chickpea crunch and the grated parmesan cheese. This is a vegan dish if you use vegan parmesan cheese or omit the cheese completely.
Serve while still warm.
This salad will hold up to 3 days in a airtight container. I recommend storing the chickpeas in a separate container so they don’t get soggy.
Crunchy Chickpea Kale Salad
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Butternut Squash Peeled and diced.
- 4 Tbsp Avocado Oil Or Oil of choice.
- 2 Tsp Salt and Black Pepper
- 1 Can Chickpeas Drained, rinsed and dried.
Dressing
- 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 Tbsp Tahini Dressing
- 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- Salt and Pepper A pinch of each.
- 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
Wilted Vegetables
- 2 Tbsp Avocado Oil
- 2 Cups Lacinato Kale Thinly sliced.
- 2 Cups Brussels Sprouts Thinly sliced.
- 1 Cup White Part of Leek Thinly sliced.
- 1/2 Tsp Salt and Pepper
Garnish
- 1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese Shredded I use vegan Violife parmesan.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425.
- Start by peeling and dicing your squash into small 1" cubes.
- Place them on a large baking sheet pan and cover them in oil and salt and pepper.
- Next to make the chickpea crunch, drain 1 can of chickpeas, rinse and pat dry. Add to food processor and pulse until crumbs form. Should resemble crumbled breadcrumbs.
- Add to the other side of the baking pan. Cover them in oil and salt and pepper.
- Roast in the oven for 20 minutes until squash is tender and the chickpeas are crunchy. Pull out from the oven and let cool down when complete.
- Next make the dressing by adding all the dressing ingredients into a mason jar. Whisk or shake together and set aside.
- Wipe down the kale leaves and stack them on top of each other. Thinly slice the kale including the stem. Add to a large bowl.
- Clean and thinly slice the brussels and the white part of the leek. Add to the bowl.
- In a hot sauté pan add in 2 tbsp avocado oil.
- Add in your shredded vegetables. Sauté for 2 – 3 minutes or until they start to wilt. Season with salt and pepper and pull off the heat.
- Finally you can mix your salad together. In a large bowl add in your wilted greens, and butternut squash. Mix in the dressing.
- When you are ready to serve add the chickpea crunch and grated parmesan on top.
- Enjoy!