Meatless Monday: Kale and Yam Bowl

This entry was posted on Mar 19, 2018 by Charlotte Bell.

Kale and Yam Bowl

A confession: despite the popularity of all-things kale (and the fact that I’ve been growing it and eating it for 35 years), I’d never tried making kale chips until very recently. I’ve certainly eaten them. They’re available at most stores these days and they even sell them at my favorite movie theater. And they are very pricey.

I’d heard they’re supposed to be easy to make, but I just hadn’t tried. Then I found this kale and yam bowl recipe at Minimalist Baker. When I initially saw the recipe, I was attracted to the combination of yams and kale, a favorite pairing of mine. As I read the recipe I realized that roasted kale (kale chips, essentially) were part of the equation. They were embarrassingly easy to make, considering how long it took me to try them.

Anyway, this bowl is a flavorful combination with green and orange veggies, plus protein from the chickpeas and tahini sauce. The recipe made two bowls with sauce left over. The next evening I roasted more yams and kale, and put together some simple black beans instead of the chickpeas. It was equally tasty.

I modified this recipe a bit. The original recipe instructs you to roast the yams for just 25 minutes. Having cooked yams many times, I knew it would take longer. In fact, it took 45 minutes for the yams to soften to perfection. So I waited 35 minutes to add the kale to the baking sheet. I’ve included my modifications in the recipe below.

If you like the combo of yams, beans and greens, try this bowl.

Meatless Monday: Kale and Yam Bowl with Chickpeas

Vegetables:

  • 2 Tbsp olive, melted coconut, or grape seed oil
  • 1/2 red onion, chopped
  • 2 large sweet potatoes, cubed
  • 2 big handfuls kale, larger stems removed, torn into bite-sized pieces
  • 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

Chickpeas:

  • 1 15-ounce (425 g) chickpeas, drained, rinsed + patted dry
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 3/4 tsp chili powder
  • 3/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
  • optional: 1/2 tsp oregano
  • optional: 1/4 tsp turmeric

Tahini Sauce:

  • 1/4 cup (56 g) tahini
  • 1 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • 2-4 Tbsp hot water to thin

 Put It Together:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and arrange sweet potatoes and onions on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with a bit of oil, and then sprinkle with a few pinches of salt.
  2. Bake for 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Drizzle kale with a touch more oil and season with a pinch each salt and pepper. Push the yams and onions to one side of the baking sheet and place kale on the sheet. Bake for another 5-10 minutes, depending on how crispy you’d like them to be, then set aside.
  4. While vegetables are roasting, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add chickpeas to a mixing bowl and toss with seasonings.
  5. Once hot, add 1 Tbsp oil and chickpeas and sauté, stirring frequently. If they’re browning too quickly, turn down heat. If there isn’t much browning going on, increase heat. This will probably take about 10 minutes on medium heat.
  6. Once the chickpeas are browned and fragrant, remove from heat and set aside.
  7. Prepare sauce by adding tahini, maple syrup and lemon juice to a mixing bowl and whisking to combine. Add hot water until a pourable sauce is formed. Set aside.
  8. Divide vegetables between two serving bowls and top with chickpeas and tahini sauce.
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About Charlotte Bell
Charlotte Bell discovered yoga in 1982 and began teaching in 1986. Charlotte is the author of Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life: A Guide for Everyday Practice and Yoga for Meditators, both published by Rodmell Press. Her third book is titled Hip-Healthy Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Guide to Protecting the Hips and Avoiding SI Joint Pain (Shambhala Publications). She writes a monthly column for CATALYST Magazine and serves as editor for Yoga U Online. Charlotte is a founding board member for GreenTREE Yoga, a non-profit that brings yoga to underserved populations. A lifelong musician, Charlotte plays oboe and English horn in the Salt Lake Symphony and folk sextet Red Rock Rondo, whose DVD won two Emmy awards in 2010.