I had a huge bunch of kale yesterday that needed using up and I fancied doing something quite different and interesting with it. And this is what I came up with – Turmeric Roasted Fennel, Chickpeas and Kale Salad. It’s utterly scrumptious, looks beautiful with the golden colours from turmeric and is perfectly wholesome.
I’ve roasted everything, even the kale in the oven. It’s February, it’s cold and I crave warm comfort foods. The fennel and the chickpeas can be roasted on the same baking sheet, they take about 30 minutes to roast. And then you will need a separate one for the kale, which took me about 10 minutes to roast, although you can leave the kale in the oven longer for more crispy finish. At the end I’ve tossed everything with some ginger dressing to compliment the turmeric and chopped fresh coriander, yum. You could have this for lunch on it’s own or just as a side dish for a more substantial meal. Enjoy:)
- 1 fennel bulb
- 1x400g can chickpeas (1½ cup)
- 3 garlic cloves, halved
- 1tsp turmeric
- sea salt
- 2tbsp olive oil
- large bunch of curly kale
- fresh coriander to garnish, optional
- Dressing:
- 1tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 2tbsp olive oil
- ¼ lemon, juice
- pinch of sea salt
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (390F)
- Cut fennel into 8 wedges, place into a bowl and toss with ½tsp turmeric, sea salt and ½tbsp olive oil. Place onto 1 side of a baking sheet.
- Drain chickpeas, pat dry and place into a bowl. Add garlic and toss with ½tsp turmeric, sea salt and ½tbsp olive oil. Place onto a baking sheet next to the fennel. Bake for about 30min stirring in between.
- Tear kale leaves from the thick stems and wash thoroughly. Pat dry, place into a bowl and toss with sea salt and 1tbsp olive oil. Spread onto a baking sheet and bake for about 10-15min stirring in between.
- Mix all of the ingredients for the dressing.
- Once everything is baked, toss together and drizzle with the salad dressing. If you like garnish with some chopped fresh coriander.
- Enjoy!
This looks gorgeous, Hana! I love fennel, but don’t cook with it anywhere near often enough!
Thank you Sasha! Same me, I usually just eat some raw in a salad, but it tastes great roasted too, especially in winter. x
I think roasting everything and then tossing with dressing is genius and scrumptious. Fantastic colors and I bet the textures are wonderful, too.
Thank you Lynne! I’m really happy how it came together and you’re right, it does taste great and pretty comforting too:) x
what could you use in the dressing if you cant have lemon. and am I reading this right to bake it at 200? that seems low!
Hi Tee, you could add little raw apple cider vinegar instead or use different dressing – simple tahini or cashew sauce would be lovely too. I bake this on 200C which is about 390F. Hope you like it :)
Echoing Lynne’s comment… I think it’s genius that you roasted the kale! It makes it much more easy to digest too! :D
Thank you Sarah for your lovely comment! I’m not a big fan of raw kale and roasting it makes it actually really tasty:) x
I don’t usually post on blogs but had to say, I LOVE braised fennel which is how I found this recipe on Pinterest. Had all the ingredients laying around and whipped this up on a lazy Sunday. WOW! My boyfriend and I LOVE it. He wants this to be in my weekly rotation.
I added some chilli flakes to the dressing to give it some kick but followed word-for-word. THANK YOU! This is our new favourite MEAT FREE MONDAY dish!
Hi Melissa, thank you so much for this comment! I’m so happy this salad was such a success! I really love it myself, which reminds me, I must make it again too:) x
What to use instead of turmeric? I’m extremely allergic to it.
Hi Deb, you can just leave it out or use any other of your favourite spices – cumin, ground coriander, paprika or cayenne would all work well too.
Is this salad tasty when eaten cold or should it be eaten heated up if I’m making it for the next day?
Hi Staci, it’s the best eaten straight away, but you can happily eat it cold too! I do :)
Can you be more specific about which ingredients to mix for the dressing? All of the ingredients are in one list, but some are for roasting. Thank you!
Hi Bree, all of the dressing ingredients are written separately. I’ve made it even more clear now.
I made this for dinner last night and am currently eating the leftovers for breakfast. It’s wonderful! I had never used fresh fennel before but saw it at the farmer’s market and couldn’t resist buying it. I searched Pinterest to find a way to use it and came across your recipe. It was so easy to make and was so delicious. I’ll be buying fennel at next week’s farmer’s market too !
Hi Judy, thank you so much for coming back and leaving me this lovely comment! I’m so happy that you’ve enjoyed this recipe, it’s the perfect time to make it, fennel is just back in season :)
The flavors in this are wonderful. I put it on top of a red leaf lettuce and that was dinner. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi Judy, I’m so happy you’ve enjoyed this recipe. Thank you so much for coming back and leaving me such lovely comment.