Kale Tabbouleh with Delicata Squash and Apples
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Recipe Intro From zjengel
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Everyone knows and loves tabbouleh, a Middle Eastern staple salad of bulgur and chopped herbs found on tables all across the Levant. Straight from the kitchen of Galit in Chicago, this recipe from James Beard-award winning chef Zach Engel is as vibrant as big dinner salads come. He came by FeedfeedBrooklyn shortly after traveling through Israel with our Editorial Director Jake Cohen and whipped this up for our editors to snack on for lunch. Needless to say, it was a huge hit. It’s nothing like the parsley-heavy tabbouleh you’re used to, but instead transforms kale salad into a fall grain bowl packed with crunchy apples, warm delicata squash and fragrant toasted pepitas seasoned with Arabic baharat. Using nutritional yeast to coat the squash and garnish the salad, there is a rich cheesiness to it, while still being completely vegan. Wrapped up in a tangy, garlicky vinaigrette, it’s a family meal staple now for busy days of testing. The best part? It’s just as good the next day as it is the moment you toss it together.
- Recipe Card
Recipe Card
ingredients
- 1 cup bulgur wheat, extra-large grain, dried
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1 cup pepitas
- 1 teaspoon baharat spice
- 1 delicata squash
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast, divided
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 3 cloves garlic, finely grated
- 3 bunches Lacinato kale, stemmed and thinly sliced
- 1 honeycrisp apple, 1/2-inch dice
Method
Step 1
Place the bulgur wheat, warm water and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium size bowl. Mix gently with a spoon. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit until the bulgur fully absorbs the water for about 2 hours. Drain off any excess water and refrigerate until needed.
Step 2
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Season the pepitas with baharat and salt in a small mixing bowl and place on a sheet pan. Toast for 5 minutes, then let them cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container until needed.
Step 3
Raise oven temperature to 425°F.Remove the ends of the delicata squash then slice down the middle lengthwise to make two small boat shapes. Remove the seeds. Place the squash halves on a sheet pan and rub with 1 tablespoon olive oil, then season generously with salt and 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until squash is tender and begins to caramelize. Let cool to room temperature and then cut into ½-inch thick pieces.
Step 4
To make the vinaigrette: In a medium bowl, whisk remaining olive oil with lemon juice and garlic. Season with salt.
Step 5
To assemble the salad: Place kale into a large mixing bowl with the soaked bulgur, diced apples and roasted delicata squash pieces. Toss with ¾ of the vinaigrette and season with salt. Add more vinaigrette or salt, to taste. It should be well seasoned and it should taste very lemony and garlicky.
Step 6
Place the dressed salad in a large serving bowl. Top with all the baharat-spiced pepitas and sprinkle the rest of the nutritional yeast on top, then serve.