Southwestern Kale Power Salad with Sweet Potato, Quinoa & Avocado Sauce Recipe

Kale-quinoa power salad with spicy sweet potato, black beans, and creamy avocado sauce. Reduce if your limes are large. This gluten-free, vegetarian (or vegan) salad makes a great lunch!  

Quinoa and kale – 1 cup quinoa – 1 bunch kale, ribs removed and chopped into very small, bite-sized piece – 2 tablespoons olive oil – 1 medium lime, juiced – ½ teaspoon fine salt Sweet potatoe – 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 ½ pounds), sliced into small, ¼-inch cube – 2 tablespoons olive oil – 2 teaspoons ground cumin – 1 teaspoon smoked paprika – ½ teaspoon fine salt Avocado sauce – 2 ripe avocados, sliced into long strip – ¼ cup lime juice (about 2 limes) – 1 medium jalapeño, deseeded, membranes removed and roughly chopped – 1 handful cilantro leave – ½ teaspoon ground coriander, optional – ¼ teaspoon fine salt, to taste Everything else – 1 can (14 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked black bean – ⅓ cup crumbled feta – ¼ cup pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)

Ingredient

Direction

Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh colander under running water for a minute or two before cooking. Mix rinsed quinoa and 2 cups water in a medium pot. 

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Allow the mixture to simmer for 15 minutes after a gentle boil. Let quinoa cool for 5 minutes covered. Fork-fluff the quinoa, cover the pot, and drain. Let cool. 

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Fry sweet potatoes in olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Salt, cumin, and smoked paprika to chopped sweet potatoes. Blend. Cover the pan with ¼ cup water and lower heat for safety.  

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Stir sweet potato for 7–10 minutes to fork-tenderize. Opening, return to medium, cook 3–7 minutes until wetness evaporates and sweet potatoes caramelise. Calm down. 

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Instructions: Mix kale in large bowl. To flavour chopped kale, salt and hand-massage. Crush handfuls of kale in palms. Repeat until kale is fragrant and dark (green).  

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Mix 1 lime juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and ½ teaspoon salt. Drizzle kale. Blend or process ingredients for avocado sauce. Blend well, add lime juice if needed, and salt to taste. 

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To toast the pepitas: Stir frequently in a small skillet over medium-low heat until they are lightly golden on the edges and making popping noises, 3 to 5 minutes.

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After cooling, pour quinoa into the kale bowl and toss. Four large salad bowls with kale and quinoa. Add sweet potatoes, black beans, avocado sauce, feta, and pepitas.

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Five Cheese Ziti Al Forno

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