When I was planning my meals for this week, I was browsing the recipes I pinned on Pinterest and found a salad I that looked delicious! I haven’t had many salads recently and this one really caught my eye. When I tried to visit the website to get the recipe, I got the dreaded “404 Error”. I tried to search the website, google the recipe name, and click on the recipe from the website’s address. No luck. I tried to find the pin to share with you, but I must have deleted it already.
Undeterred, I decided I just needed to create a recipe that tasted the way I pictured it should. Since I have no idea what the inspiration photo was actually made of, I’ve decided that mine tastes better. You can make assumptions like this in my world.
Although I was originally annoyed I couldn’t find the inspiration recipe, I’m glad that it forced me to put my creative hat on. This one almost made up for my kabocha fail during the same cooking session. 🙂
- For the chickpeas
- 2.5 cups garbanzo beans
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- For the dressing
- 12 ounces silken tofu
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce (I use a vegan one)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
- 20 ounces kale, removed from veins & torn
- 2 -3 slices of sourdough bread
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a small bowl, combine all the spices for the chickpeas. Toss with chickpeas until evenly coated. Distribute evenly on jellyroll pan in one layer. Bake for 35 minutes.
- In a blender, combine all ingredients for dressing. Blend until combined – the dressing will be slightly fluffy. Clean & dry the blender or use a separate food processor to chop the bread into small pieces (like breadcrumbs).
- In a large mixing bowl, drizzle the dressing over the kale. Massage the dressing vigorously into the for 3-5 minutes. You should feel the kale leaves texture change and soften, indicating they are done. For tougher kale leaves, add an extra splash of apple cider vinegar to the mix.
- Divide the massaged kale into 5 servings. Top with 1/5 of the roasted chickpeas and breadcrumbs. If stored in airtight container, the salads will keep for up to 1 week.
The final recipe was based on the macros I needed for my third meal of the day (closest to lunch), so this one has a nice balance of protein, veggies, & carbs. You’ll notice the tofu in the dressing, which allowed me to round out the proteins without adding too much starch to the salad. Whether or not you care about this balance, I think you’re going to enjoy this salad!
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Edited to add: Yet again I have no concept of strange, but if the queen of #strangebutgood creations says it qualifies, I’m in! If you haven’t already, go check out all the strange creative recipes on this weekly Friday party. There’s always something amazing to discover:
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Questions for you:
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What was the last recipe (or food photo) that inspired you?
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Have you had roasted chickpeas as a snack before? Any flavor combos to share?