Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpea Salad with Green Tahini Dressing

This recipe combines delicious roasted cauliflower and chickpeas with massaged kale salad. Kale is an amazing source of folate, Vitamin K, A and C and super-healthy phytonutrients like Quercetin and Kaempferol. The cauliflower and chickpeas are supercharged with anti-inflammatory turmeric, and the tahini dressing (made of sesame seeds) is rich in vitamins, minerals, fibre, healthy fats, antioxidants and powerful phytonutrients including the lignans which can have hormone-regulating, cancer-protective and cholesterol-lowering actions, as well as cholesterol-lowering phytosterols.

If you're not a fan of kale in salads, keep an open mind! Raw Kale needs to be massaged! When you remove the woody stems, finely shred and then massage the kale in a little olive oil and salt for a few minutes, it completely transforms the texture.

I love to make a HUGE batch of this as it's an excellent two-for-one deal. I serve it as a warm salad for dinner, and then I toss all of the leftovers together to take to work for lunch the next day.

Ingredients

Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas

1 small cauliflower, cut into florets
1 400g can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional - if you like it spicy!)
Salt and black pepper
Olive oil (optional)

Massaged Kale Salad

2 bunches kale
1/2 - 1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (optional)

Green Tahini Dressing

1/4 cup tahini*
1 generous handful of flat leaf parsley leaves (approx half a bunch)
Juice of 2 lemons
One clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon honey or maple syrup**
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

** See my step-by-step pics below! **

Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas

Place all ingredients into a large bowl and toss well, until the cauliflower and chickpeas are well-covered in the turmeric and cumin.
Spread on baking tray.
Bake in pre-heated oven (180 degrees celsius) for 30 minutes or until cooked.

While Cauliflower and Chickpeas are baking, make Massaged Kale Salad

Wash kale, remove stems and discard.
Finely slice the kale into thin ribbons.
Place the finely sliced kale into a large bowl. Add in the olive oil, salt (and vinegar if you are using it) and massage the kale for a few minutes. The kale will release liquid, become a brighter, darker green and soften. This will make it much more pleasant - and less chewy! - too eat.
Set aside and now make the dressing

Green Tahini Dressing

Place all ingredients into a bullet blender and pulse until smooth. Taste and adjust flavour/consistency until you are happy.

To assemble to salad:

Arrange the Massaged Kale Salad on a serving platter.
Top with the roasted cauliflower and chickpeas.
Drizzle with the dressing.

Serve and enjoy!

I love to serve and eat this as a warm salad for dinner, and have the leftovers for lunch the next day. Either way, this dish is nourishing and delicious!

* Did you know that tahini is made of sesame seeds? It's basically just a paste made of crushed sesame seeds. It comes in hulled and unhulled varieties. The unhulled variety has a more bitter flavour, so if you use it, then add a tiny touch of sweetness (honey or maple syrup) to balance it out.

** Some people like a tiny hint of sweetness in their tahini-based dressings. If you use unhulled tahini, then definitely add the honey or maple syrup. Just a tiny bit OK, or you will mess with the flavour profile!