Also known as Lacinato kale salad with shoestring okra, sweet potato croûtons, and a spicy peanut dressing. Tangy, textured, tasty. Filling but healthy. I absolutely loved it.
Those of you like my mother who believe that Satan created okra (people have VERY strong feelings about this vegetable) can substitute roasted broccoli which would taste good in this salad as well.
This may seem like a lot of food but it is a substantial, have it for lunch and keep on going 'til dinner, meal salad and as such needs a hearty amount of ingredients. Feel free to scale back if you think that you will eat less in one sitting.
2 cups Lacinato kale, washed, stems removed and cut into thin slices (chiffonade)
1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced (size is indicated in image above)
10 okra pods, ends removed and quartered lengthwise
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp peanut butter
Juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp maple syrup, Silan, or agave syrup
Hot sauce to taste
Old bay or chili flakes to taste
Salt to taste
Roasted peanuts for garnish (optional)
Preheat the oven to 425.
Add the olive oil to a large bowl. Toss in the sweet potatoes, the okra, the Old Bay or chili flakes and some salt. Toss well to combine.
Remove onto a parchment paper lined baking tray and bake for thirty minutes, stirring at the fifteen minute mark to redistribute the vegetables.
Add the kale to the olive oil remaining in the bowl once you removed the sweet potatoes and okra along with the red wine vinegar and some salt. Using your hand, toss well, massaging the kale as you do to break down its texture a bit.
Remove to your serving plate and fluff up the kale, set aside until the other vegetables are ready.
Combine the peanut butter, Silan, hot sauce and lemon juice in the now empty bowl. Add some salt if necessary and a bit of hot water as needed to obtain the texture of dressing that you prefer.
When the vegetables are cooked, place them on top of the kale and drizzle generously with the dressing. Top with roasted peanuts, if using. Chopped mint or coriander would work as a garnish as well.
