Kale and quinoa salad with lemon-tahini dressing
35 min · 23 g protein · 403 cals / serving
Kale massaged until silky, tossed with fluffy quinoa, chickpeas, edamame, crunchy cucumber, sweet cherry tomatoes and toasted pumpkin seeds, then coated in a creamy, garlicky lemon-tahini dressing. It is a salad that eats like a meal and holds up for days in the fridge.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 1 large bunch kale, stems removed, finely sliced
- 1/2 tsp salt, divided
- 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup edamame, shelled, thawed
- 1 large cucumber, diced
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
- a handful fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas), toasted
Lemon-tahini dressing
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 small clove garlic, grated
- 2 tbsp water
Steps
- Cook the quinoa in plenty of boiling salted water for 12–14 minutes, until the little tails appear. Drain well and spread it out on a plate to cool.
- Whisk the tahini, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, water and a pinch of the salt until smooth and pourable. It may seize at first; keep whisking and it will loosen.
- Put the kale in a large bowl with a pinch of salt and a spoonful of the dressing and squeeze and rub it with your hands for 1–2 minutes, until it darkens and turns soft and silky.
- Add the cooled quinoa, chickpeas, edamame, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion and parsley, pour over the rest of the dressing and toss well. Scatter with the toasted pumpkin seeds and serve.
Good to know
Can I make it vegan?
Replace the Greek yogurt with plain unsweetened soy yogurt, which is about the same score, or with 3 more tablespoons of water and an extra spoonful of tahini.
Does it keep?
Unlike most salads, yes: dressed, it keeps for three days in the fridge, because kale does not wilt. Add the pumpkin seeds just before eating so they stay crunchy.
Per
- Calories
- 85
- Protein
- (23%)
- 5 g
- Fat
- (31%)
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- (46%)
- 11 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
- Sodium
- 101 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 1610 kcal goes into the pot and 1649 g of ingredients comes out as about 1900 g of food: 85 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.