Warm sweet potato, quinoa & kale salad

Warm sweet potato, quinoa & kale salad
Serves 3-4

I basically combined and altered a few recipes to make this salad – and in my humble opinion it ended up being one of the most delicious warm (and cold leftover!) salads I have ever made.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 medium sweet potatoes
• 200g quinoa
• 400ml water
• 1 knorr chicken stockpot
• 200g kale
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 100g feta cheese
• 3 shallot onion
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Salt & pepper

 

 

METHOD

1. Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Wash the sweet potatoes and chop them up into 1cmx1cm cubes (no need to peel them).
2. Add them to a baking tray and cover with a decent amount of olive oil, salt & pepper – then put the tray on the top shelf in the oven.<
3. Weigh out 200g of quinoa and rinse/clean it well. Put the rinsed quinoa into a saucepan, add the chicken stock pot then add 400ml of cold water and bring to boil. Once it has boiled for 5 minutes turn down the heat and let it cook on a medium/low heat.
4. Thinly slice the shallot onions into small rings. Put the thin rings in a small bowl, salt it really well and add enough balsamic vinegar to the small bowl to more or less cover the shallots. Give them a bit of a stir and just leave them to soak.
5. Take a big saucepan or wok and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to it. Slightly hit up the oil in the wok then add 2 large cloves of crushed garlic. Let the oil take some of the garlic juices (20 seconds – don’t burn the garlic!) then quickly add the kale and stir it so it gets covered with the hot garlic oil.
6. When all the kale is covered in the oil add a splash of warm water to the pan and stir fry the kale for about 5 minutes. When done take it off the hob.
7. Take the quinoa off the hob when it tastes ready (should be soft – usually takes around 20-25 minutes) and put it to the side as well.
8. Check on the sweet potatoes in the oven and take them out when they are to your own liking. I like them with a bit of colour so I usually take them out after about 30-35 minutes.
9. Add the kale, then the quinoa, then the sweet potatoes in a big heat proof salad bowl and let it rest for about 5-10 minutes.
10. Chop up the feta and when the potatoes have cooled down a little, add them to the bowl.
11. Last but not least, add your bowl of pickled shallots to the salad and mix well. Then it is ready to serve.

This salad can be eaten on its own or with some protein. It is super nice as a next day leftover dish and I can recommend adding some baby spinach and rocket to it when it is cold, topped with a little bit of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and seasoning.