Recipe: Massaged Kale Salad with Sweet Potato & Tahini

This simple and colorful salad from Samah Dada (digital Today Show host and the healthy cooking whiz behind @dadaeats) is a tasty way to heap your plate with vegetables and enjoy their many nutritional benefits. Beets and sweet potato keep it satisfying enough for a main course, while a craveable combination of tahini and spicy mustard make for a versatile dressing you’ll reach for over and over.

Beyond being wholesome and easy to throw together with pantry staples and in-season produce, this dish can also help you hone your healthy habits:

• Take advantage of that hot oven and throw in an extra sheet of vegetables for meal prep.
• Make a double batch of dressing to store in the fridge and drizzle over future salads, roasted vegetables, and grain bowls.
• While the recipe is vegan, gluten-free, and Whole30® compatible when prepared as written, feel free to put your spin on it to suit your dietary needs (or simply your lunchtime cravings). Try bulking it up with a scoop of quinoa or crispy roasted chickpeas, sprinkling with tangy goat cheese, or topping with sliced chicken breast.

Yield: 2–4 servings
Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the salad:

1 medium sweet potato, scrubbed, sliced into ½” thick rounds, and quartered
2 to 4 teaspoons Thrive Market Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
10 ounces Tuscan or curly kale, stems removed and leaves torn into bite-size pieces
3 cooked and peeled beets, chopped into bite-size pieces (try Love Beets)
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
Kosher salt
Thrive Market Organic Black Pepper

For the dressing:

¼ cup Thrive Market Organic Sesame Tahini
1 teaspoon Primal Kitchen Organic Spicy Brown Mustard
1 tablespoon Thrive Market Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Juice of ½ a lemon, plus more to taste
Kosher salt
Thrive Market Organic Black Pepper

Instructions

Make the salad:
Preheat oven to 400°F. In a medium bowl, toss sweet potato slices with 1 to 2 teaspoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking sheet and roast until slightly charred around the edges, about 30 minutes.

While potatoes roast, add kale to a large bowl and drizzle with 1 to 2 teaspoons olive oil. Massage kale with your hands until it softens, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.

Make the dressing:
Whisk tahini, mustard, olive oil, and lemon juice in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper to taste. If dressing is too thick, add water 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Pour dressing over kale and add the roasted sweet potatoes, beets, and red onion; gently toss. Sprinkle with additional salt and pepper before serving.