Delicata Squash & Chickpea Kale Salad with Miso-Harissa Dressing
Let me tell ya, wine tasting can really take it out of a girl.
Thank god for kale salads to help us get back on track. Kale salads and a lot of green juice that is!
Honestly though, we had an absolute blast in Walla Walla, Washington. Thank you all for your sweet comments about our anniversary. It felt so good to leave our worries behind and head for the grapes. We tasted so many wonderful wines and it was absolutely gorgeous seeing all the vineyards. However, all good things must come to an end and we feel more rested and motivated to kickstart farm season.
We’re ready to put our wine glasses down and eat more kale.
This salad is our detox salad. It is full of superfood nutrition and a good dose of my two favorite condiments, harissa and miso. If your local grocery store doesn’t carry Harissa I highly recommend ordering some. I’ve been putting it on everything! You can read about my love for it here.
The inspiration for this salad comes from my brothers girlfriend Rebekah. She made a similar salad when we were visiting them in November and I haven’t been able to get it off my mind since. She followed Heidi Swanson’s recipe for Roasted Delicata Squash and Kale Salad. I love all of Heidi Swanson’s recipes and this is no exception! I decided to switch things up a bit by roasting chickpeas instead of potatoes and tinkered with our toppings. I love this salad and the flavors are so complex and delicious I can’t seem to get enough!
Before you grab a fork and dig into this salad head on over and read my interview with The Chalkboard Magazine. I’m over the moon excited to be featured on their site and I hope you enjoy the article.
Okay, go eat your greens now!
Roasted Delicata Squash and Chickpea Kale Salad with Miso-Harissa Dressing
Prep Time: 15 mins. Cook Time: 30 mins. Serves: 4
- 1 medium-sized delicata squash, cut into 1/4 inch rounds (no need to peel the skin is edible)
- 1 large bunch of kale, tough stems removed and cut into bite sized pieces (I like the curly kale for this recipe but any variety will work)
- 1 1/4 cup cooked chickpeas, if canned rinsed and drained
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1/3 cup almonds, finely chopped
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup white miso
- 1 TBS harissa (start with a little less if you are sensitive to spice and add more if necessary)
- 3 TBS lemon juice
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Whisk all the ingredients for the dressing together until smooth. (This works best with an immersion blender, but a hand whisk is fine too) Taste test and add anything if needed. It should be intensely flavorful but if it's too spicy or salty dilute it with a bit more olive oil.
- Toss the delicata squash rounds and chickpeas together with 1 TBS olive oil. Place on a prepared baking sheet and roast in the oven until squash is fork tender and chickpeas are lightly browned, about 25-30 minutes. Toss mixture halfway through cooking time.
- Drizzle half the dressing over the kale and gently massage the kale leaves. (This helps the kale become more tender and absorbs the dressing better)
- Toss the warm roasted vegetables with the kale leaves and top with almonds and raisins. Drizzle a little more dressing to taste and dig in!
Notes
Use this recipe as a guide. Adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary.
The harissa returns! I feel you on the need for a detox salad after wine tasting – pretty much the most indulgent vacation imaginable (in an awesome way, of course)! So glad you guys got to enjoy yourselves, and also glad to have you back and giving us more kale and squash 🙂 This looks so tasty, and I’m still curious about the harissa. I’ve gotta try it!!
Girl, you need to get on the harissa train. It’s taking over my life!
Excellent interview with Chalkboard–fun to read and insightful.
Thanks Barb!
Your kale looks incredible along with this great salad combination.
It really was delicious!
Delicata squash & chickpeas just go soooo well together!! 🙂 I am looking forward to this recipe! Thanks for the beautiful pictures & delicious looking recipe!! 😀
Your welcome!
SO glad you’re back and that you had a great time 🙂
I’m also so glad to see that the harissa obsession continues 🙂
The obsession is getting out of control. Just ate some on my breakfast eggs!
I’ve been seeing harissa pop up a lot lately. I need to get my hands on some. It’s a fairly new ingredient to me! Kale, on the other hand, is of course a staple. I’m ready to spruce it up with something new, so this sounds perfect! Congrats on the interview, too!
I was sort of skeptical of it at first (there’s a lot of different varieties which vary greatly in flavor) however, I’ve found my go to brand and love it! The link is in the post!
More harissa! More chickpeas! More kale! More miso! Love all of these things and glad you had a lovely time in Walla Walla.
Thanks lady!
I still need to get me some harissa! I’m honestly not the biggest fan of delicata but I bet this recipe would change my mind.
Congrats on the feature! I’m so happy that you’re getting all the attention you deserve! 🙂
Thanks girl! Also, this recipe will work well with any other squash too 🙂
This salad is so gorgeous and definitely main course worthy! Sounds like you had a great trip!
It really is filling and a good main course for sure. Yes, our trip was lovely. Can’t wait to do it again next year 🙂
GO KALE! I made almost this exact dish a few weeks ago! So good. And defintiely the perfect detox food.
Definitely great detox food!
Kale + squash = such an awesome combination!! Beautiful, healthy food.
Sounds yummy. I just happened to have some Harissa and miso from other recipes and was just thinking about what to do with it. What is the portion size for the miso? Thanks
Hey Melissa, thanks for the catch! It’s 1/4 cup miso. I just edited it. Enjoy!
What a gorgeous salad!! Must try this – love the squash in there too.
That looks and sounds delicious. I am making it for dinner the week. Now where are you located. The kale looks wonderful. Will you ship me some? 🙂 I heard there is a shortage.