Kale Salad with Roasted Chickpeas and Avocado

There are still plenty of people who are not kale fans. I get it. It’s a little chewy, and very unlike crisp romaine or iceberg lettuce. But this is a dish that gets rave reviews at potlucks in our neighborhood, and believe me, you better be on your A-Game when you bring food to potlucks around here. We are surrounded by amazing cooks. Jill adopted this recipe from one on the NYT cooking site, and it is a year long favorite.

Dressing Ingredients

⅔ cup Olive Oil

⅓ cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

1 tsp Salt

5 Garlic Cloves, gently pressed with the flat end of a knife

Chickpeas

14 oz Chickpeas (1 Can), drained and rinsed

2 tsp Olive Oil, or olive oil spray - enough to coat the chickpeas

2 tsp Seasoning - We use Penzey's Turkish Seasoning, but a mix of salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic will always be good!

Salad Ingredients

4 cups Kale leaves, removed from stems, chopped, and massaged. There is some debate about massaging kale, but vigorously squeezing the kale leaves a few times makes them a little more approachable. I'm a fan.

2 cups Sliced Unsalted Almonds, Toasted

1.50 cups Grated Parmesan Cheese (Optional - Omit it to make this vegan)

2 Avocados, cut into bit sized pieces or slices

So many other ingredients can be added - Quinoa, tomatoes, fresh peas, you name it!

Roast the Chickpeas

We use our air fryer for this, but it's easy to use your oven too. Lightly coat the chickpeas with olive oil, add Turkish Seasoning or Spice Mixture. Cook at 400 degrees for for 15-20 minutes, turning at least once, until browned and crispy.

Make the Dressing

Mix Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, Salt, and Garlic Cloves. Remove garlic cloves after 20-30 minutes.

Preparing the Salad

Mix dressing and kale. Add all remaining ingredients and mix again. You may want to lay the avocado on top, as people may argue they did not get their fare share of avocado. This may or may not have happened in our house a few times.

Enjoy!

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Kale Salad with Roasted Chickpeas and Avocado