Kale, Sweet Potato, and Date Salad with Roasted Pepitas

It’s been a while.  Life keeps happening while I’m busy making plans.

Two weeks ago I was in New England with my friend Amanda, and we stumbled upon this fantastic salad while in Boston.  After almost a week of binging on lobster rolls, oysters, and fried clams, our bodies were craving something green, and relatively healthy.

We were in between meetings in the Beacon Hill area of Boston, and we stopped into The Met Back Bay, the first restaurant we saw off Newbury Street.  We ended up ordering their “MET Green Guru” salad with grilled salmon.  It was the perfect mix of kale, chicory, dates, roasted butternut squash, pepitas, and red onion, topped off with a tangy apple cider vinaigrette.  It was delicious!  I am always intrigued anytime someone makes raw kale appealing. The salad was satisfying, simple, and healthy.

I decided to recreate the salad, including the awesome apple cider vinaigrette.  I made a few simple modifications; namely, I used sweet potatoes in lieu of butternut squash, and only kale.  (Chicory isn’t always easy to find.  Who needs it?!)

Let’s be honest – raw kale generally sucks.  BUT, I’ve found that “massaging” the kale is a total game-changer.  For this salad, I used the Trader Joe’s generic chopped and washed kale.  I removed all the chunky stems, then tossed the greens with a splash of olive oil, and some kosher salt.  After a quick “massage” for 30 seconds or so, the leaves start to “break down” which scales back the harsh, unforgiving raw kale flavor.

For the toasted pepitas, I kept it super simple.  I had a bag of raw pepitas (also from Trader Joe’s) in my freezer.  On a baking sheet, I poured the peptias, along with a splash of extra virgin olive oil, chili powder, salt and pepper, and baked for just a few minutes until they got nice and toasty.  Last but not least, I only had shrimp in my freezer when I made this salad at home, so I skipped the salmon.  The salad is delicious on it’s own, but I needed some protein.  Feel free to add whatever you like.

This salad is the perfect weeknight meal.  It comes together pretty quickly and it’s healthy!  Since the kale is such a “hearty” green, it makes for delicious leftovers – just store the vinaigrette on the side prior to serving.

Kale, Sweet Potato, and Date Salad with Roasted Pepitas

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Author: Shug

Ingredients

• SALAD:
• 6 cups (1 large bag) raw kale, stems removed
• 2-3 small sweet potatoes, roasted and diced
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced
• 6 dates, diced
• ½ cup roasted peptias
• Optional: cooked shrimp, salmon, or grilled chicken breast
• VINAIGRETTE:
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• 1-2 tablespoons honey (depending on taste)
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Make the vinaigrette. In a shaker or blender, mix together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, minced garlic, salt and pepper together until well-combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. Roast the pepitas. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Pour the pepitas onto a baking sheet and add a splash of olive oil. Then, sprinkle on chili powder, salt, and pepper. Roast for 8-10 minutes until fully dried and crunchy. Set aside to cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl, toss together the kale, a drizzle of olive oil, and some kosher salt. "Massage" the kale for at least 30 seconds to break down the leaves, making the kale more palatable. (Be sure and remove any large stems from the kale before massaging).
4. Dice the roasted sweet potatoes (this is a great way to use leftover sweet potatoes) into bite size chunks. Slice the dates and red onion.
5. Add the sweet potato, dates, red onion, pepitas, and shrimp/salmon/chicken (optional) to the massaged kale. Toss together and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Enjoy!

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