Brown Bag (vegan!) Lunch

Kale Salad with 

Red Kidney Beans, Pine Nuts & Tahini Dressing

{original recipe from your daily vegan}

I was steadfast in thinking that kale is a garnish, not something one would eat, until our friend Shannon shared this game-changing recipe with me. The amount of tahini in this recipe may appear to be too much, but you need a healthy dose of fats here to help digest the kale - the first time I made this recipe I was sparing, with regret.

ingredients:
1 bunch of kale, stems removed & chopped into bite size pieces
1 15 oz can red kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup tahini
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
1/8 cup water, or more as needed
salt & pepper, to taste

1. wash the kale & dry it thoroughly with paper towels or a salad spinner (this part can be a pain, but is necessary as the dressing will not stick to wet leaves). 

2. remove large stems & tear apart the kale into bit sized pieces along the vein lines.

3. put kale into a large bowl. then mix in the kidney beans & pine nuts.

4. in a separate bowl, whisk together tahini, garlic, vinegar, lemon juice & water. add more water as necessary, a little bit at a time, to achieve a uniform, runny consistency. 

note: tahini tends to separate and you will need to mix to combine the oils with the solids on the bottom - consider this part a good arm toning exercise!

5. toss the dressing with the kale & let sit for at least 15 minutes before serving so the acids from the dressing can break down the kale a bit.