Head into autumn with this sweet potato salad. Packed with kale, pearl barley, asparagus, apple, pomegranate, feta, walnuts and a garlicky lemony hummus dressing.
It’s been a hot minute…
Or to take the words from Taylor’s mouth, it’s been a bloody long time coming! Yes, I did go to The Eras Tour this year. Twice. And yes I have got that exciting fact in early. Sorry, not sorry.
So in addition to seeing Taylor Swift in action, it’s been a busy year in our household and the blog has been rudely neglected in the process.
I last left you in October 2023 with a tasty creamy lemon turkey meatball pasta recipe complaining about the fact I was kitchenless. And that fact continued until mid-December. As the builders continued to do their thing, I donned my overalls and spent three solid months sanding floors, oiling doors and priming, caulking and painting every surface possible in our freshly plastered and skirted house. Although this was our second renovation, I learnt so much and loved pulling together our ideal home.
This collided with hosting Christmas twice – once for friends and on the day itself for family. A new freelance role that I started in January. A gorgeous wedding in Ireland. And a ski holiday in Italy to take the edge off of all the decorating.
And now the house is completely finished…
IN MY DREAMS. We’re still working on the hallway/landing/stairs but that’s relegated to weekends and the odd day off here and there.
But most importantly, the kitchen is in and looking GORGEOUS! I’ll share it with you soon on Instagram. However for now, I’m back to creating recipes and I’m so excited to share them with you!
Onto this autumn sweet potato salad
I have been eating this delicious salad on repeat for the last month. I’ve made it for BBQs with friends, for sit down dinners with family and on a Sunday to eat throughout the week. It’s definitely going to be taking me into autumn and with roasted sweet potato as the star of the dish, it’s ideal for the season.
Preparing kale
Kale needs a bit of love to become delicious and I’m sure you’ve heard of the odd phrase of “massaging kale”. The purpose of this is to soften the tough leaves to give a texture you actually want to eat.
Here’s how you prepare your kale:
- If you have a bag of pre-prepared kale, pick through and remove all of the woody stalks. If the kale is whole, strip the leaves from the stalks and roughly chop into bite sized pieces.
- Wash your kale thoroughly and place on a clean tea towel to dry before placing in a large bowl
- Drizzle over a little olive oil and get your hands in the bowl to massage the kale for about two minutes or until softened and dark green
- The kale should have reduced slightly in volume and be tender to eat without being mushy
How to open a pomegranate
Releasing pomegranate arils from the fruit can be frustrating! I’ve tried all sorts of tutorials but found this one on Instagram to be the best way to whack them out.
Now I’m finally back to sharing my recipes, I’d love to hear what you think of this autumn sweet potato salad in the comments below or over on Instagram @somethingwithflavour.
Looking for more autumn recipes? Why not try my:
- Apple raisin and almond overnight oats
- Vegan sausages with butter beans and spinach
- Tomato and ricotta pasta with chicken
- Creamy lemon turkey meatball pasta
Autumn sweet potato salad
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 – 6 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Head into autumn with this sweet potato salad. Packed with kale, pearl barley, asparagus, apple, pomegranate, feta, walnuts and a garlicky lemony hummus dressing.
Ingredients
Salad
- 100 grams dried pearl barley
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes (approx 300 grams)
- 100 grams curly kale
- 100 grams asparagus, woody ends removed and cut in half
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ apple, thinly sliced
- 80 grams pomegranate kernels
- 100 grams feta
- 50 grams walnuts
Dressing
- 75 grams hummus
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Pearl barley: cook the pearl barley according to package instructions. The one I use says to rinse and then boil in a saucepan with 500ml of water for an hour, but I usually find it is cooked at around 45 minutes. Make sure to keep an eye on the water level as it cooks and add more boiling water if dry. Once cooked, drain into a sieve and allow to cool.
- Sweet potato and asparagus: preheat your oven to 200C / 180C fan. Toss the cubed sweet potato in 2 teaspoons of olive oil, salt and pepper and spread onto a roasting tin. Roast for 30-45 minutes until soft and crisp on the edges. Toss the asparagus in 1 teaspoon of olive oil, salt and pepper and add to the sweet potato for the final 10 minutes of cooking.
- Kale: wash the kale, remove the woody stalks and tear apart any large leaves. Pat dry with kitchen roll and pop in a large bowl. Drizzle over a little olive oil and get your hands in the bowl to massage the kale for about 3 minutes or until softened and dark green.
- Dressing: mix together the hummus, minced garlic clove, lemon juice, olive oil and honey. The dressing should be relatively thin so add in the water in 1 teaspoon of time until easily pourable.
- Assemble: once everything is cooked, assemble the salad on a large plate or bowl. Layer the kale, pearl barley, sweet potato and asparagus, then top with the red onion, apple slices, pomegranate kernels and walnuts. Crumble over the feta and pour the sauce all over. Give everything a good stir, serve and dig in!
Notes
The nutritional information below is based on 5 servings
You can easily make this salad vegan by swapping in vegan feta and substituting honey with agave syrup
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Lunch
- Method: Various
- Cuisine: European
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 portion
- Calories: 381
- Sugar: 8.5g
- Sodium: 288.9mg
- Fat: 20.4g
- Carbohydrates: 40.3g
- Fiber: 4.8g
- Protein: 9.1g
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