This delicious easy salad bowl was made with a few different varieties of fresh home grown garden kale. Kale is so super nourishing and I love the vibrant green colour of the leaves. My favourite way to eat kale is in a delicious green smoothie but I am also trying to eat and create more salads this summer so I created this delicious kale and salmon salad bowl. I really enjoy a huge bowl of fresh greens for dinner its such a light but filling evening meal. The quinoa in this dish adds a delicious nutty taste to the kale and an extra protein boost too.

In this recipe I have fresh garden kale, they are cavolo nero, red russian and to be entirely honest I can’t remember the name of the third because I had so many seed packets going into trays in the Spring but all three varieties have grown really well in our Scottish climate. Kale has nourished the Scots for generations its such a hardy vegetable with a high nutrient content. You can make some powerful smoothies or juices with this delicious vegetable. Kale salads are my new favourite summer salad!

I massaged the kale to create this salad and its really important to do this as the kale can be pretty tough. It does help to pick some of the younger leaves as they are a little softer. I found this was the case with my garden kale plants. Massaging and shredding helps to break down the texture a little and make it easier to eat. You could also massage a little avocado into the kale too to make it softer. I found the quinoa worked really well.

Garden Kale Salad Bowl (4 servings)

1 cup of quinoa

salt & pepper

Kale – 1 or 2 varieties ( I used 3 but you could even get away with 1)

Olive oil

2 cups grated beetroot

2-3 cups cooked sweet potato (I roasted up some frozen cubes in the oven with olive oil and salt)

1/2 finely chopped red onion

1/2 cucumber chopped

1 large tomato chopped

2 fillets of precooked salmon (any flavour will work, I used plain with olive oil and seasonings)

Spring onions

Parsley or coriander for garnishing

Sauce –

1 cup of Cashew nut butter

Oat Milk (or other milk) ( enough to thin sauce out)

1 tbsp of Raw Honey

1 garlic clove

1 thumb of ginger

Cook 1 cup of quinoa in some boiling water with salt or in the pressure cooker on the rice setting. Leave to the side to cool.

If your sweet potato and salmon are not already cooked pop them in the oven with some olive oil and salt and cook for about 20-30mins until cooked through at about 180oc.

Wash and shred the kale. Massage the kale thouroughly with salt and a little olive oil. Add the kale to the cooked quinoa and mix through.

Add all the sauce ingredients into a mini food processor and blend through, adding a little oat milk to thin the sauce out.

Add a large handful or two of the kale to a bowl and sprinkle the red onions over the top. Add in the portions of sweet potato, shredded beetroot and salmon and sprinkle the tomatoes and cucumber pieces in the middle as per the picture below.

Add a huge dollop of the sauce and garnish with spring onions and parsley or some coriander. A squeeze of lime would work well too.