Fall Kale Salad with Spicy Garbanzos

I’m back on the kale salad band wagon, but this time, I’ve taken a decidedly Autumn turn with my Fall Kale Salad with Spicy Garbanzos. This salad is definitely hearty enough to eat for dinner and it’s great vegetarian or with the bacon. When I make it vegetarian, I double the garbanzo bean part of the recipe. In fact, I pretty much always make double the garbanzos, or even triple, because whatever is leftover makes a delicious snack. I for one am always looking for ways to make healthy and delicious snacks to keep the munchies at bay. And the spicy garbanzos are definitely a delicious and healthy snack. If you aren’t just adding extra garbanzos and you are indeed using bacon, make sure you keep it separate until just before you’re going to serve the salad. That way it stays extra crispy, which is a great contrast to the squash which shouldn’t be mushy, but isn’t crunchy either. Finally, it’s time to get apple picking, because apples are not just for dessert; they’re great in my Fall Kale Salad with Spicy Garbanzos. I often add fruit to salad, but in this particular Fall Kale Salad with Spicy Garbanzos the apples are the sweetness that just make everything work so well.

Print Recipe

Fall Kale Salad with Spicy Garbanzos

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Servings: 2

Author: Barrett Bridenhagen

Ingredients

• 1 acorn squash
• 2 green apples or mix and match, but crispy is important
• 1 large bunch kale
• juice of ½ a lime
• 4 slices bacon
• sea salt
• black pepper
• olive oil
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 x 14 ounce can garbanzo beans chickpeas
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon chili flakes
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon sugar
• lime zest from one lime do this before you juice it

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400° F. Halve the squash.
• Remove the seeds (roast them with salt for a snack?). Dice the acorn squash into ½ inch pieces. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and maple syrup and scatter on a lined baking sheet.
• In a medium bowl, combine the garbanzo beans, vegetable oil, cayenne, chili flakes, salt, sugar and lime zest. Toss well. Spread evenly on a lined baking sheet. Place both the squash and the garbanzos in the oven on separate racks. Meanwhile dice the kale into small ribbons.
• Microwave the bacon until well-done. Chop. Reserve. Roast squash 10 minutes until it is firm, but fork tender; remove to a large salad bowl. Place the kale on the squash baking sheet without cleaning. Toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast kale about 10 minutes until it is starting to crisp a little, but still has plenty of give. Remove to the large salad bowl. Meanwhile, halve the apples. Remove the cores.
• Dice the apples into ½ inch cubes. Toss with lime juice to preserve their color and add some acid to the salad. Add to salad bowl. Top with the chopped crispy bacon.
• At this point, check on the garbanzos. They should have about 10 minutes left. When they’re finished, they should be cooked through and crunch when you bite down. Let cool for a minute or two on pan.
• Mix the squash, kale, apples and bacon well. Season and add additional lime juice, oil, salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve. Top with garbanzos as desired, but reserve the extra garbanzos in a Tupperware for snacking rather than adding into the salad. This will preserve their crunch. So beautiful and such a bounty of fall flavors and textures.