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Roasted Kale Caesar Salad with Chickpeas & Avocado

A warm roasted kale salad with chickpea croutons, avocado and a creamy Caesar dressing! This is easy to make with an amazing texture. Served warm, it's the perfect winter or summer side dish or the basis for a light meal. The vegetarian Caesar dressing is Greek yogurt based, intensely flavorful and luxurious! 
4.34 from 3 ratings

Ingredients

  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 8 oz (200 g) chopped kale, see notes
  • 1 ripe avocado, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Caesar Dressing

  • ¼ cup (60 ml) full fat greek yogurt
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, or half a lemon's yield
  • ½ clove garlic
  • 2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese, or parmesan style cheese - see notes
  • ½ Tbsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tsp capers, in brine
  • 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Instructions 

  • Pre-heat the oven to 180C / 360F. Bump this up to 200C / 390F if your oven is not fan assisted (convection).
  • Brush a large skillet or shallow casserole dish with olive oil. Spread the chickpeas over the pan and toss to coat in oil. Sprinkle with salt and put in the oven for 12 minutes.
  • While the chickpeas are cooking, prepare your dressing by blending all of the ingredients with a hand blender or mini food processor.
  • Once the 12 minutes is up, remove the chickpeas from the oven and use a spatula to toss them around on the pan. Now cover the chickpeas with the kale, spritz or brush the kale with oil, and sprinkle with salt. (if you have space, you can push the chickpeas to one edge of the pan so they're not going to be covered - but if your dish is too small it's OK to layer up, they just don't get quite as crispy). Cook for another 8 minutes until the kale is soft, but getting crispy on the edges.
  • When the kale is done, remove from the oven and spoon out the chickpeas and kale into a bowl. Top with avocado and dressing, and toss to combine.
  • Garnish with additional grated parmesan cheese, if desired.

Notes

Your chopped kale needs to go in the oven as dry as possible, so I like to use pre-washed bagged kale for ease here. If you need to wash your kale, I suggest doing it well in advance and then storing it in a salad spinner so that you can put it in the oven dry. If your kale is freshly rinsed and has a lot of moisture on it, it will steam more than roast in the oven.
I personally use a vegetarian parmesan style cheese rather than true parmesan which is made with calf rennet (it has to be in order to be called parmesan within the EU). I like Twineham's or Ocado's own brand.
To double this recipe, you need to cook your chickpeas and kale in separate (larger) pans because otherwise the kale is going to be piled too high in one pan. So when the chickpeas have been in the oven for 12 minutes, move them to a lower shelf and add the pan with the kale on the top shelf. 
Serving: 1g, Calories: 392kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 18g, Fat: 22g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g, Cholesterol: 24mg, Sodium: 586mg, Fiber: 9g, Sugar: 7g