Massaged Kale Salad with a Middle Eastern Twist (and an ADDICTIVE dressing!)

Have you tried Massaged Kale Salad? If not, you're in for a treat! 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

Massaged Kale Salad

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

Middle Eastern Carrots and Chickpeas

3-4 large carrots, washed and sliced
1 can chickpeas (or 1 cup dried chickpeas soaked overnight and cooked for 1 hour. If you want to lower the glycemic impact of this dish and increase the Resistant Starch content, refrigerate the cooked chickpeas overnight. You can read why I do this HERE!)
2 large very mild red chillies, finely diced (if you can't find the really mild red chillies use a red capsicum/bell pepper)
1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 level teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder (optional)

Lemon, Tahini & Garlic Dressing

Juice of 3 lemons
4 Tablespoons tahini (I use unhulled, but you can also use hulled)
1 - 2 cloves garlic, crushed (how much garlic you use will depend on how much you like garlic. I LOVE garlic so I add lots to this dressing!)
1 level teaspoon salt

Method

Middle Eastern Carrots and Chickpeas

Place sliced carrots, chickpeas and finely diced mild red chillies (or red capsicum/bell peppers) in a bowl with the 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil,1 level teaspoon salt, cumin, paprika, black papper (and chilli if you like it hot!). Mix to combine.

Line a baking tray with baking paper and place carrot/chickpea mix over top.
Bake in a pre-heated oven (180 degrees celsius) for 30-40 minutes. Stir to mix everything after 15-20 minutes.

While carrot and chickpea mix is baking, make the 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

Lemon, Tahini & Garlic Dressing

To make the dressing, place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.

Don't be put off if at first the dressing looks like it is split. Keep whicking and you will be rewarded with a smooth creamy texture.
At this point you will need to STOP tasting the dressing! You need to leave some to eat with your salad, m'kay?

To assemble the salad:

Arrange the Massaged Kale Salad on a serving platter.
Top with the roasted carrot and chickpea mix.
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!