Kale sweet potato salad with sesame seed dressing 

Maybe this is the best way to eat kale. Crisp it in an air-firer, sprinkle a salty spice on it and it will feast your tastebuds with its unique textural quality. Kale, by itself, has a peculiar, earthiness and a slight-bitter, aftertaste. If treated well, it extols the presence of other ingredients in a dish. I share a love-hate relationship with this leafy deep green vegetable. The long crinkly leaves always captives me when I shop for groceries. Kale brings in many health benefits, but that is not the only reason, why I buy it. It can last longer in my fridge, in comparison to any other leafy green. It can dress up any sandwich or salad quickly and can make it photo-worthy. This is a great help because I share my food life on Instagram. 

Kale contains fibre, antioxidants, calcium, vitamins, iron and a wide range of other nutrients. So including it in the diet is beneficial. Making it taste good is the challenge most of us face. The flavour and nutritional content vary between different types of kale. The younger leaves are less bitter and less fibrous. But the curly, deep green ruffled is mostly available in the market. Which is fibrous and you need to get rid of the centre stalk before using it. 

I am not a smoothie person, so all those recipes where you blend kale with many other healthy ingredients and replace a meal with that glass containing green liquid have never charmed me. I need food, to chew on, I like to taste my vegetables, and I prefer a plate of food, which includes different textures and colours. 

This kale and sweet potato salad turned out so amazing. Now, I have one more reason to like kale and include it in my diet. This was my first time with this recipe. My daughter loved it too. She is anyways always looking for healthy delicious food, and this won her appreciation. 

I can’t be exaggerating my keenness towards kale, where sweet potato has a lot to do in this recipe. If kale makes this dish theatrical, roasted sweet potatoes are that cushiony seats where you recline with ease and enjoy. They are hearty, carb-rich, satisfying bites which bring in the balance of taste and texture. As a food-loving soul, I won’t miss appreciating the goodness of sweet potato which is crispy outside and soft, fluffy inside. 

The sesame seed dressing knits the whole dish together. Though, I have named this recipe Kale sweet potato salad with sesame seed dressing. This is actually a complete meal by itself. It will keep you full for longer and will leave you satisfied. 

Make sure not to crowd the bucket of air fryer, when you crisp up the kale or sweet potatoes. It is recommended to shuffle the food in the bucket of air-frier for even browning. 

I have used my air-frier to crisp up the kale and sweet potato. You can do the same in your oven too. If you don’t have an air-frier, I recommend getting one at home. I have been using the air-firer more than my oven nowadays. One and most obvious reason, we use an air fryer, is that we stop deep-frying foods at home and crisp various foods in the air fryer. But I do a lot more, for example- reheating foods like pizza and pastries,  I crisp up the makhanas, jawar puffs and corn puffs at home, I roast nuts and seeds in it, and the leftover pita is turned into crispy chips which go great with hummus. If you brush the bread with herb oil/butter and crisp it in the air fryer, it turns out to be an amazing snack. 

Use parboiled sweet potatoes for this recipe. Here is a tip, sweet potatoes get mushy as you boil them. It is so important to handle them with care if you want to cut them into cubes, as shown in the recipe. The trick is to boil them and keep them in the fridge. And use them the next day. 

The sesame seed dressing is gorgeously delicious. It is great in sandwiches too. Please taste and adjust the seasoning, when you make it at home. It pairs well with the salad, as it’s higher on tanginess and nutty flavour. But you have to listen to your tastebuds and make changes accordingly. You might have to add a little water to it and run the blender for the perfect consistency. 

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Sun-dried tomato garlic spread 

Oven-Baked Spiced Croutons