In this chilly weather, it can be so much harder to motivate yourself to eat healthily. Salads seem like a particularly unappealing prospect, especially when the toaster is in easy reach (is this just me?). Soup is a great warming option to get a good veggie fix but sometimes it just doesn’t feel substantial enough. Don’t despair, help is at hand.
This warm salad is full of comforting flavours and nourishing ingredients that will keep you satisfied on a winter’s day and hopefully give you enough energy to look beyond the toaster.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
Salad
- 750g sweet potatoes (or butternut squash or a mix), cut into small chunks
- oil for drizzling
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tin/400g (240g drained weight) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 bag/200g spinach
- zest of 1 lemon
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 tsp chilli flakes
Dressing
- 1 avocado
- ¼ cup/60ml tahini
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- black pepper
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Put the sweet potato on a tray, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with 1tsp paprika, salt and pepper. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the potato is crispy on the outside and nice and tender inside.
- Meanwhile, sauté the chickpeas, spinach, garlic and the remaining tsp of paprika in a little more oil, making sure the chickpeas are warmed through and the spinach has just wilted. Cover and set aside.
- Next, make the dressing. Place all the ingredients plus ½ cup/120ml water in a blender and whizz until smooth. Taste and adjust flavour adding salt, pepper and/or lemon juice as required.
- When the potatoes have finished cooking, mix them together with the chickpeas, spinach, lemon zest and chilli flakes and divide between bowls.
- Serve, with the dressing drizzled on top.
