a peek inside the fishbowl

23 Jan, 2014

Maple kale and sweet potato salad

Posted by andrea tomkins in: Recipes and Food

January 23 #dailylunches - Maple, sweet potato, and kale salad recipe

I’m not sure if this really qualifies as a salad, but I SHALL CALL IT A SALAD AND A SALAD IT SHALL BE. (That being said, I think this it could also make a very nice side dish too. Maybe served with a pork chop?)

This made an excellent lunch – a veritable cornucopia of flavours –  and it’s officially my new favourite. I ate it faster than you could say: “Boy, this is A VERY GOOD SALAD.”

This recipe is based on this one, which looked good but I thought (a) the dressing could use a little something and (b) I needed to make this into a recipe for one.

Pro tip: roasting the sweet potato in a toaster oven is faster than firing up your regular oven.

For the main part of this dish you will need:

1 smallish sweet potato, cut into chunks
a dash of olive oil
salt (I’m currently addicted to PC black label sea salts. It’s a mix of salt, rosemary, garlic, sage, and pepper, and I use it all the time.)
1/2 Gala apple, diced (My foodie friend Paula Roy told me that they don’t brown as quickly as the others. I had no idea. She’s so smart!)
a handful of kale, washed, torn, stems removed
pecan pieces for sprinkling

For the dressing you will need:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 tablespoon maple syrup

  1. 1) Toss your chunks of sweet potato with a drizzle of olive oil and your salt of choice. Pop into the toaster oven set at 400F for about 20 minutes, tossing once or twice.
  2. 2) While your potato is roasting, make the dressing and deal with your kale. If you’ve never eaten raw kale before, make note: I’m not kidding about the stems. They’re bitter, so get rid of them TOOT SWEET.
  3. 3) Put your kale pieces in a large bowl and toss with the dressing. Then, using your hands, massage the dressing into the kale. I bet you’re thinking HOW GROSS. KALE MASSAGE. WELL I NEVER! If you skip this step you’ll be losing out, big time. The pinchy squeezy motion of massaging the kale breaks it down at a cellular level, magically reducing its bitterness and actually changing its flavour. Don’t be shy, give it a really good rubdown, then let it sit in the dressing while the sweet potato finishes cooking.
  4. 4) By now your dog will be wondering what’s going on in the kitchen. Promise him or her a little wedge of sweet potato. I bet your dog would give it a thumbs up, if it had thumbs.
  5. 5) Once the potato is done (you’ll be able to sink a fork into it), it’s time to assemble your salad. Move the kale over to a plate, top with the sweet potato, apple, and pour the remaining dressing over the whole shebang. Top with pecan bits. Add freshly ground pepper if desired.

That’s it! Let me know if you try this recipe!


6 Responses to "Maple kale and sweet potato salad"

1 | Patty

January 23rd, 2014 at 3:26 pm

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I make one very similar to yours, except mine uses apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, canola oil, and cranberries in place of the apples. It is definitely a favourite salad in our house, and I love that the kids devour it!

2 | Glen Gower

January 23rd, 2014 at 7:54 pm

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Made this tonight Andrea, thanks for the suggestion!

3 | Pamela

January 24th, 2014 at 1:30 pm

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This sounds good Andrea! Definitely throw the dogs some sweet potatoes, because if they’re anything like mine, they won’t touch the kale!

4 | J Lee

January 28th, 2014 at 4:37 am

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Sweet potato! I’ll do this when the folks come over this weekend. Thanks for the recipe. :)

5 | Pearl

February 2nd, 2014 at 1:47 pm

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that sounds great.

6 | Ingredient du jour: black rice >> a peek inside the fishbowl

March 21st, 2014 at 10:30 am

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[…] the chopped kale to that, tossing and squashing it down with my fork. (Remember what I said about kale massage in this recent recipe!) And then I let it […]

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My name is Andrea and I live in the Westboro area of Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Piper who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. We also have two human offspring: Emma (24) and Sarah (22). During the day I work as a writer at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

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