I love experimenting with produce from my garden and at the moment we’re still getting plenty curly kale and cavolo nero (Italian kale). Inspired by a recent trip to Denmark I put together this recipe for a warm kale salad with chickpeas, sautéed sweet potato, chopped apple and toasted seeds. And I loved the result! The best thing is that it tastes even better the second day!

Ingredients:

Serves 6

A bunch of curly kale (approximately 150g)

A bunch of cavolo nero (Italian kale) 

1 sweet potato

200g cooked chickpeas

50g pumpkin seeds

50g almonds

1 apple 

2 tbsp virgin olive oil

1 tbsp of good quality balsamic vinegar

Juice of half a lemon

Salt & pepper

2 tsp Middle-Eastern spice mix (SEE DETAILS BELOW)

Wash the kale, remove tough stalks, chop finely and set aside in a big bowl. Peel the sweet potato and cut up into 1x1cm cubes. In a small frying heat up olive oil and sauté the sweet potato until soft. Add drained cooked chickpeas and the Middle Eastern inspired spices. Add pumpkin seeds and almonds and sauté for five minutes or until all ingredients turn golden. At this point your kitchen will start smelling delicious.

Core the apple, cut up finely and set aside. Now it is assembling time: take your bowl of prepped kale and add a splash of good quality virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. Mix well and you can even massage the leaves gently as this will make them more tender. Add the cooked mixture of sweet potato, chickpeas and seeds and mix well. Add salt and pepper. The final step is adding the chopped apple which will really transform this salad. It will add sweetness and crunch.

The salad is delicious on its own or you can use it as a side with meat such as grilled pork chops or roasted chicken. It keeps well in the fridge without losing its crunchiness. You can warm it up in a microwave too.

Middle Eastern Spice Mix

Makes about 50g

3 tbsp cumin

3 tbsp coriander

2 tbsp sumac

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp turmeric

I use my Nutribullet or a small blender to whizz the spices up into fine powder. Store in an airtight container.