Stephanie Achar Recipe: Christmas Kale Salad

CHRISTMAS KALE SALAD

Although kale's prickly appearance might be a bit daunting, it is a nutritional powerhouse.

Kale is high in iron, calcium, potassium, folate, vitamin K for bone health and blood clotting, vitamin A for vision and skin, vitamin C to boost your immune system, fibers, antioxidants and omega 3s.

This salad is amazing and moreish. If you massage the leaves with the tahini dressing, which is key to a softer texture, and up the flavours with some sweeter vegetables, even little ones will enjoy this great healthy option for the festive season.

You can serve on it as a main for vegetarians for as a side with a good organically raised, grass-fed piece of meat

INGREDIENTS

Serves 2

For the salad:

180 grams of fresh purple kale

1/3 cup pomegranate seeds

1 large avocado

2 sweet potatoes

For the maple roasted pecans:

1/2 cup pecans

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tablespoon olive oil

For the tahini dressing:

2 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons olive oil

Juice 1/2 a lemon

Juice 1/2 large orange

1/2 tablespoon of tamari

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Peel the sweet potatoes and chop them into bite sized cubes. Line them on a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil and a teaspoon of cinnamon and place in the oven for 30 minutes.

Wash the kale, and remove any hard stems. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl. Pour the dressing into the bowl with the kale and massage for approx 3 minutes until the kale softens.

Add the pecans to a bowl with the pure maple syrup and olive oil, mix well and roast in the oven for 2-3 minutes.

Slice the avocado into cubes and add to the salad with the pomegranate seeds, the roasted sweet potato wedges. Toss well and top up with pecans. Enjoy!

Stéphanie Achar is a qualified nutritional therapist and health coach based in South West London. She is collaborating with Culture Whisper to create a series of seasonal, wholesome and nutritionally balanced recipes.

Find more recipes or book a free nutrition consultation with Stéphanie on her website, www.simpleandhealthy.com