My maternity leave ends today. I’m a little stunned at how intensely I feel both excitement about returning to work and devastation at the thought of not being near my baby 24/7. I keep telling myself I need to at least experience life as a working mom before I completely freak out about it. Somedays I expect it to be more than manageable, great even. Other days I feel certain Ari will be forever traumatized by my abandonment and it will be a complete disaster. Needless to say, I have no idea what to expect.
In these uncertain times, we turn to our foundation, our solid ground. Which, obviously, is Jesus and really good food. Who could have seen another salad coming?? Just because it’s fall out doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy our piles of tasty green stuff. But let’s be honest, we don’t eat salads for the greens we eat them for the TOPPINGS. If I had less pride, my salads would consist entirely of toppings, hold the greens. I’m an adult though, so that kind of recklessness isn’t allowed.
This here is a kale Caesar salad with roasted veggies. I’m not going to lie, it’s not the most creative name I’ve ever come up with. But it is a darn good salad. It has roasted chicken (Costco rotisserie chicken would be an excellent choice here), crispy chickpeas, roasted sweet potatoes, parmesan cauliflower, and more parmesan for good measure. The kale is imperative for the base because you’ll need a sturdy green to keep this salad upright (it’s best served warm). The dressing is really the only thing that even sort of qualifies this as a Caesar salad, and even that’s a bit of a stretch since the dressing has tahini and Greek yogurt (not typical additions to Caesar dressing), but trust me, it works.
So I’m freaking out a bit, but it’s all good. When all else fails, I have salads to rely on. We took our first family road trip last weekend (an eight-hour car ride to the Upper Peninsula) and what did I pack for lunch to add some stability to our unknown environment? A giant salad for Jackson and I to share, packed neatly in my biggest metal bowl with freshly-scooped avocado, goddess dressing, veggies, a baggie full of homemade croutons, and plastic cutlery. The trip itself actually went really well, but the highlight? Hands down that salad. Do yourself a favor and make yourself a reliable salad today.
Roasted Veggie Kale Caesar Salad
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1 bunch kale destemmed and torn
- 2 chicken breasts raw
- 2 cans chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 head cauliflower florets removed from stalk
- 2 sweet potatoes cut into half moons
- 1.5 cups parmesan grated
- 1/4 cup olive oil divided
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp oregano dried
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- salt and pepper to taste
For the dressing
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 2 tsp worchestershire sauce
- juice of 2 lemons
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup parmesan grated
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the salad
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
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On a large baking sheet, arrange chicken breasts on one side and the chickpeas, sweet potatoes, and cauliflower on the other.
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Drizzle olive oil on the chicken and season with salt and pepper and a bit of the garlic powder, oregano, and paprika.
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Mix the veggies and chickpeas with the remaining olive oil and seasoning and 1/2 cup of parmesan. Toss well.
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Bake for 35 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Remove chicken and raise oven temperature to 425 degrees.
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Replace baking sheet and continue to bake an additional 20 minutes until chickpeas are crispy and cauliflower has a golden crisp on the edges. Meanwhile, chop up chicken.
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Toss together the kale, roasted veggies, chicken, remaining parmesan, and dressing. Toss well and serve immediately.
For the dressing
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In a food processor, combine all ingredients. Thin out with water if necessary and season with salt and pepper.
