Creamy Kale & Mushroom Salad with Toasted Seeds

I am first to admit that I am glad the ‘massaging your kale’ phase has passed a bit but I love this salad and the combination of flavours and textures.

Soft, massaged kale is dressed with a creamy dressing (such a keeper!), I love the depth of flavour from the mushrooms and the crunch from the toasted seeds and croutons.

Super easy to make (15 minutes) and so delicious.

Recipe thanks to Deliciously Ella.

Serves 2

High speed blender for the dressing

• handful pumpkin seeds
• handful sunflower seeds
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 225g mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 200g kale, leaves torn and thick stems removed
• 2 slices bread
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 ripe avocados, peeled, stoned, and cut into bite-size pieces (opt)

Dressing

• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 100ml non-dairy milk
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 heaped tablespoon nutritional yeast
• lemon juice, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC. On a baking tray, toss the pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds with a tablespoonful of the olive oil, a pinch of salt, and the cumin. Roast for about 5-8 minutes, until crunchy
2. In a large mixing bowl, massage 2 tablespoonfuls of olive oil, the apple cider vinegar, and a generous pinch of salt into the kale until soft.
3. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan, fry the mushrooms until golden and season well with pepper and salt.
4. For the dressing, in a nutribullet, blend together the cashews, non-dairy milk, mustard, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and two tablespoons olive oil and sunflower seeds until smooth and creamy, adjusting the seasoning and thickness of the dressing to your liking. The dressing is quite thick.
5. Toast the bread in a toaster, rub with the garlic, and dice to form croutons.
6. To serve, massage the dressing into the kale and toss with the toasted seeds, mushrooms, avocado, and croutons. Taste and season with salt, pepper and/or lemon juice. Enjoy!