Stephanie Achar Recipe: Christmas Kale Salad

Kale might not sound like the most festive of foods, but load it up with sweet, seasonal veggies and crisp maple roasted pecans and you have the recipe for a light Christmas treat, with enough vitamins to keep the whole family healthy.

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!

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Vegetarian; vegan; free from gluten, dairy and refined sugar

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Stéphanie Achar: Simple and Healthy

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