Warm Kale, Chickpea and Sweet Potato Salad

Winter is a time for warm and hearty meals. I love warm salads – they are always so colourful and full of flavour. Today I made warm kale, chickpea and sweet potato salad, which is easy to prepare, nutritious and very filling.

This salad could be served cold as well as warm. However, if you choose to serve it cold, I would recommend using olive oil instead of coconut, as coconut oil has a tendency to set when cooling.

I could eat sweet potatoes all day every day – for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But if you are not a fan or haven’t got any in the house, the sweet potatoes could be replaced with butternut squash, parsnips, carrots or even regular potatoes.

I would usually have this salad on its own, but if you fancy an even more filling meal, you could add some grilled chicken, turkey or a few slices of grilled halloumi.

Ingredients Serves 2

• 1 medium size sweet potato (approx. 350 g), cut into wedges;
• 100 g cooked chickpeas (drained and rinsed if from a tin);
• 60 g kale, stems removed and cut into strips;
• 1 teaspoon of paprika;
• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil;
• 2 tablespoons of roasted pumpkin seeds;
• salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C.
2. Place the sweet potato wedges in a baking tray with one tablespoon of melted coconut oil, sprinkle over the paprika, salt and pepper and roast for about 40 minutes.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a frying pan, add the kale and cook for about 5 minutes on a medium heat, then add the chickpeas and cook for a further 2 minutes.
4. Transfer the roasted sweet potatoes, kale and chickpeas into a serving dish, mix well, sprinkle over the pumpkin seeds and serve warm.

Enjoy!