(also known at my home as the salad I cooked for President Obama.)
In an attempt to keep things in order and to fully enjoy each period of the year to its fullest, I never start cooking with fall classics produce before our Sukkah is down and neatly folded in the basement. Only then I feel ready to start enjoying the most beautiful time of the year. Welcome winter squashes, Brussels sprouts and yams! Goodbye eggplants, zucchini and beautiful tomatoes!
The first recipe of the season has to be special. The local farmers’ stand in my neighborhood has nice looking yams and nice Tuscan kale. Following the Israeli principal of mixing as many colors in any salad as possible, I knew I had a winning combination of orange and purplish-green. red quinoa added another color and made the salad hearty and right for the cooler season.
A year after I came up with this salad, I helped cooked the Passover Seder for President Barack Obama at the White House. I was told by one of the waiters that the President actually asked about the salad and that First Lady Michelle Obama commented that it was a healthy salad. I have nothing left to aspire for 🙂
Yam, kale and quinoa salad
Course: Salads, sidesCuisine: Israeli, Chef’s recipeDifficulty: easy6
servings25
minutes40
minutesINGREDIENTS
1 can light coconut milk (13.66 oz)
1 cup red or regular quinoa
½ teaspoon turmeric
1½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 large or 4 small yams or sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 bunch Tuscan (or Dino) kale
Pinch dried crushed red pepper
DIRECTIONS
- Oven to 400 degrees. Spray a cooking sheet with oil.
- Put coconut milk, quinoa, turmeric and one teaspoon of salt in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the quinoa is tender and has absorbed all the coconut milk. If quinoa starts sticking to the bottom, you can add a little water, 2-3 tablespoons at a time. Then, remove from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Peel yams, cut to half-inch cubes. Put in a bowl. Add a half-teaspoon of salt, brown sugar and olive oil and mix. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes, stir and continue for another 5-10 minutes, until just fork tender. Take out of the oven.
- Transfer the quinoa into a large bowl. Gently mix in the yam.
- Remove stems from kale leaves. Slice kale into very thin strips. Gently mix with the quinoa, sprinkle the crushed red pepper and mix again. Serve warm.
