Kale Caesar Salad with Tahini Dressing and Crispy Chickpea Croutons

This Kale Caesar Salad is tossed with a creamy garlic tahini dressing, and topped with Roasted Chickpeas as a healthy grain-free crouton alternative. The chickpeas take 45 minutes to roast to crispy perfection, they take only a few minutes of hands-on preparation so you won’t have to spend too much time in your kitchen. Just toss in a bit of olive oil and garlic, pour them into a pan, and bake!

You can make them as soft or as crunchy as you like. (Start checking on them around the 30-minute mark if you don’t want them to be too crisp.)

PREP TIME10 minutes

COOK TIME45 minutes

TOTAL TIME55 minutes

SERVINGS 3 servings

AUTHOR Megan Gilmore

INGREDIENTS:

GARLIC ROASTED CHICKPEAS

1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (or one 15-ounce can, drained)

1 tablespoon olive oil 1 clove garlic (minced)

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

KALE CAESAR SALAD

1/4 cup raw tahini

4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup water

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt freshly ground black pepper

1 large bunch kale (any variety)

INSTRUCTIONS Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

To prepare the Garlic Roasted Chickpeas, toss the cooked chickpeas with olive oil, garlic, and salt in a large bowl, then pour them into a rimmed baking sheet. Arrange them into a single layer, then bake until crisp, about 45 minutes.

While the chickpeas are baking, prepare the dressing. Stir together the tahini, lemon juice, water, garlic, mustard, salt, and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Stir until smooth and adjust any seasonings as you like.

To assemble the salad, remove the tough stems from the kale leaves and use your hands or a sharp knife to rip the kale into small pieces. Toss the leaves with the dressing and let them marinate in the fridge while you wait for the chickpeas to be done.

When the chickpeas are done roasting, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle them generously over the kale salad and serve. Leftovers can be stored separately in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. (The chickpeas do soften with time, but you can toast them in the oven again to re-crisp.)

AUTHOR Megan Gilmore