My friend told me about a kale and beet salad at Whole Foods that he loved, but felt guilty eating because the dressing was high in fat. So, I decide to make a low-fat, vegan version of that same delicious salad plus a savory moringa dressing!

Chickpeas and moringa powder make this salad a protein packed meal or snack.

To eliminate some fat, I like to use aquafaba in place of the oil. Aquafaba is the liquid that comes from a can of chickpeas. One tablespoon of olive oil has 119 calories, whereas one tablespoon of aquafaba has only 3. The chickpeas in the salad dressing also provide a creaminess factor without any added processed fats. And this is easy to custom – just add more aquafaba to the dressing if you like your dressing thinner and less if you like your dressings thicker.

Aquafaba

I also added pure moringa powder to the dressing, which gives it a beautiful green color and also adds a earthy taste and extra doses of fiber and iron. This salad dressing is basically a fountain of superfoods.

Savory moringa dressing

The dressing goes wonderfully with kale, leeks, beets, and lentils. The slightly crispy leek slices add a great dimension of flavor and add a rather elegant twist to the whole salad. Also, if you don’t like beets, feel free to replace them with roasted sweet potatoes instead.

Ingredients

Dressing

  • 1 cup chickpeas
  • 1/4 -1/2 cup aquafaba (liquid from a can of chickpeas)
  • Generous twists of freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp rice vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce or liquid amines
  • juice from half a lemon
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp Kuli Kuli Pure Moringa Powder

Everything Else

  • 1 large leek, sliced width wise
  • 4 small beets peeled and quartered
  • 3 Tbsp of aquafaba
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 cups of kale chopped
  • 2 cups of cooked green lentils

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
  2. In one large bowl, mix the quartered beets with the aquafaba and pepper until the beets are coated with the aquafaba and pepper.
  3. Place the beets on half of the baking sheet and the leeks on the other half of the baking sheet. Sprinkle the leeks with a bit of black pepper.

    Purple beets add a pop of color but feel free to use cubed sweet potatoes if you don’t like beets.

  4. Bake the beets and leeks for 20-25 minutes until the leeks are a bit crispy looking. Remove the leeks from the oven and bake the beets for another 20-30 minutes until the beets are fully cooked.
  5. While the vegetables are baking, make the dressing by blending all the dressing ingredients together in a blender.

    Savory moringa dressing ingredients

  6. In a large mixing bowl, squeeze a little bit of lemon juice over the chopped kale and massage the lemon juice into the kale for about a minute or two. This takes some of the bitterness out of the kale.
  7. When the beets and leeks are finished baking, add them to the kale along with the lentils.

    Roasted Leeks

  8. Pour in the dressing and stir everything together until well combined.
  9. Serve in big salad bowls and enjoy! 🙂

 

Kale and beet salad with savory moringa dressing

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