Kale, lentil + quinoa salad with an orange tahini dressing

Last weekend I went to London to celebrate my 21st birthday. If you didn’t already know one of my favourite things to do is eat great food and where better to do it than London? The Good Life Eatery had been on the top of my must visit restaurants for ages now as I had heard such great things about it. So on an early and icy Sunday morning after getting lost numerous times I finally got to tick this one off the bucket list. The hardest part was choosing what to have as everything sounded so amazingly delicious. Eventually after much procrastination I finally chose The Good Life Salad. When it arrived I knew that this was one of my best life choices so far! I was presented with a towering mound of vibrant kale, nutty lentils, chunks of crispy roasted sweet potato studded with chewy goji berries and all topped with crunchy walnuts and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast. This energising bowl of heaven was dressed in a wonderfully creamy orange and tahini dressing. This was quite possibly one of the best salads of my life and this is not something I say lightly; I am a girl who has eaten more than her fair share of salads over my twenty one years. Of course the minute I made it home I set about to recreating this bowl of deliciousness. This is my take on this amazing salad, not quite as good as original but considering that it is one of my top ten salads ever this recreation is still pretty great! Kale’s fame as a super green is well deserved considering its wonderful nutritional profile. If you are looking to improve your complexion (like me!) then kale is the vegetable for you. Kale offers a whole host of skin boosting vitamins and minerals. Firstly kale is a rich source of vitamin C with just one cup providing ninety percent of your daily requirement. Vitamin C helps make collagen which is the structural protein that imparts skin strength by forming a mesh-work that holds together our skin cells. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant which can help prevent damage to our skin by free radicals. In addition kale is a wonderful source of copper. Copper plays a vital role in the production of the pigment melanin which is responsible for protecting our skin from sun damage. Just like vitamin C copper also plays a role in collagen formation.

The Good Life Salad

Serves: Serves 2

Ingredients

¼ cup puy lentils rinsed
¼ cup quinoa rinsed
1 medium sweet potato diced (roughly 3 cups)
1 bunch of kale
3 tbsp goji berries
3 tbsp walnuts
4 tbsp nutritional yeast
Dressing:
2 tbsp light tahini
3-4 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
Salt + pepper

Instructions

Toss the sweet potato chunks in a little oil and season well.
roast in a preheated oven at 170C/ 350F for 35-40 minutes until tender.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Place the rinsed quinoa in a saucepan along with ½ cup water and simmer for 12-15 minutes until tender.
Place the rinsed lentils in a saucepan along with enough water to cover them and simmer for 20-25 minutes until tender.
Once cooked drain the lentils and allow to cool.
Place the cooled quinoa and lentils in a large bowl.
To prepare the kale chopped the kale away from the stalk.
Cut your kale into bit sized pieces and season.
Scrunch it in your hands for 1-2 minutes until the kale has a vibrant green color.
Add the kale and sweet potato to the quinoa and lentils.
Divide the mixture between two bowls.
Scatter each bowl with the goji berries, walnuts and nutritional yeast.
Combine the dressing ingredients and season well.
Drizzle the dressing over the salads and serve.
Enjoy!