Lucy's Kale Slaw With Roast Cauliflower And Chickpeas

First up, I have to pay credit where it’s due and give a shout-out to the most amazing salad chef I know, Hetty McKinnon, who’s deconstructed falafel salad recipe from her book ‘Family’ has inspired this one. I LOVE all of Hetty’s recipes, and a few of her tricks have become part of my own repertoire.

For one thing : roast chickpeas – a revelation! Who knew you could turn canned chickpeas into the most more-ish, crunchy morsels, just by throwing them in the oven with a little salt and a few spices!? So good.

This kale salad is robust, filling and full of flavour. I dress it quite generously, but tahini is an intense flavour, so if you prefer, drizzle your dressing over the salad rather than coating the kale fully.

Method

First, roast your chickpeas and cauliflower. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees. You’ll need a large oven tray – you want to cook your cauliflower on one side of the tray, and your chickpeas on the other.

Drain your chickpeas and throw them onto one side of the oven tray. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top, and season with the ground cumin, salt and pepper – mix to coat all the chickpeas. Roast for around 30 minutes – you want them crispy on the outside but ideally still a little soft in the middle.

I tend to think cauliflower roasts better with no oil (the oil makes it go a little soggy) which is why I don’t mix it in with the chickpeas. Just chop it into small florets, spread out on the oven tray and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 minutes, until slightly browned. Once cooked, set aside to cool a little.

Kale / cavolo nero is a robust leaf and needs a bit of work to make it palatable. First, slice the leaves from the stems, then chop roughly, and immerse in a large bowl of water. Whilst in the water, ‘massage’ the kale for about 5 minutes with your hands to break it down and make the leaves a little softer. Once washed and massaged, spin in a salad spinner. (Or dry the leaves out as throughly as you can). Once dry, chop again more finely.

Shave the red cabbage as finely as you can.

For the dressing, start with the tahini and lemon in a mixing bowl, and whisk the water in gradually with a hand whisk, until the tahini reaches a smooth and pourable consistency. Taste and make sure it’s lemon-y enough, and add salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, toss your kale and red cabbage together, and mix through the tahini dressing. Throw your roast veggies over the top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve!