This kale salad with miso dressing tops baked sweet potatoes with baby kale, scallions, cilantro, walnuts, and an umami-rich miso dressing. Eating your veggies was never so easy.
Ever encounter someone who seemed unrealistically enthusiastic about eating healthy? This salad is why. It’s satisfying and healthful plate composed of roasted sweet potatoes, kale, and an umami-rich miso salad dressing. Stunningly persuasive, whether as an entree or a side.–Angie Zoobkoff
☞ Contents
Kale Salad with Miso Dressing
Ingredients
- 4 medium sweet potatoes peeled, halved crosswise, and cut into 1-inch (25-mm) wedges
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium garlic clove finely grated
- 4 teaspoons sherry vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons white miso
- 5 ounces baby kale
- 3 scallions thinly sliced on the diagonal
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts toasted
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- In a large bowl, toss the sweet potatoes with 4 tablespoons oil. Spread the potatoes in an even layer on the baking sheet and roast until tender and the edges begin to darken, about 30 minutes.
- Stir the potatoes, return to the oven, and increase the temperature to 500°F (260°C). Roast until the sweet potatoes are a dark spotty brown and slightly crisp at the edges, 5 to 10 minutes more. Transfer to a large bowl. Sprinkle with the paprika, 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper, and then toss.
- While the potatoes roast, in a small bowl, stir together the garlic and vinegar. Let stand for 10 minutes. Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, miso, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
- When the potatoes are done, in another large bowl, toss together the kale, scallions, cilantro, and 1/2 the walnuts. Pour in the dressing and toss. Divide the sweet potatoes among plates and top with the salad. Sprinkle with the remaining walnuts and serve immediately.
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This was a really simple recipe with a great new twist on some familiar flavors and techniques. I’ve roasted sweet potatoes, had them in salad, used kale and miso and smoked paprika with abandon, but this combination was simple, meaty and delicious. A great meal for vegetarians or a good side with meat or chicken. The addition of cilantro seemed like it might clash but it gave a nice fresh herby note and the miso and paprika combination was earthy and comforting.
I’d say 4 servings is accurate, unless you are feeding a large vegetarian husband who just came home from the gym. Then it’s 2 servings. It could feed 6 as a side as the potatoes are quite moreish.
I’m not sure if you need to peel the sweet potatoes, I always find them a pain to peel and they are the same amount of delicious with peel as without. Save time and leave it on!
The charred edges on the potatoes were lovely with the miso and paprika, but depending on your oven you might not need the last 10 minutes to get a char, or perhaps only a few minutes.
This salad was so weird but wonderful!
I couldn’t find baby kale at the market, so I used regular curly kale and chopped it up into small pieces and it worked very well. The cilantro adds an unexpected twist that I really enjoyed. The dressing was flavorful and balanced, but it was a bit thick so I added a teaspoon of water just to thin it out enough to help distribute it. The amount of oil to cook the sweet potatoes can be reduced to 2 tablespoons.
I served this as a main course with some roasted chicken and it was a perfect weeknight meal; I think it would be more than suitable to serve this at a dinner party on a platter to really show off the vibrant colours. I’ll definitely be adding this recipe to my regular rotation.
I love sweet potatoes, but not with marshmallows or brown sugar or, really, anything sweet as I find them plenty sweet without any additions. As a result, this recipe seemed perfect since it paired the sweet potatoes with savory and salty elements for a perfectly balanced salad course (or possibly a lunchtime entree) in which the sum is greater than the parts.
All of the ingredients are simple and they come together in a visually beautiful statement that could hold its own even on a holiday table if you wanted to include sweet potatoes as a not-so-sweet option. We would be happy to use this as 4 servings, but if serving as part of a holiday meal, or as the starter to a large meal, it could certainly serve 6 or more.
As a side note, I was happy that this recipe used end-of-season farmers market ingredients!
Note that I minced, rather than grated, the garlic, but otherwise followed the directions precisely.
Originally published January 05, 2019
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If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
If you know me at all, you know I like to take things apart and put them back together again, maybe with a little twist. At the winter farmers market over the weekend, there was fresh spinach, and I have squash from a friend’s CSA. Having made this the right way (strictly per the instructions!), I’m thinking of changing it up with the spinach, the squash, and pecans in lieu of the walnuts. This will retain the recipe’s tone and color scheme, and also make use of the precious few fresh and local produce options we have available in January!
Elsa, your improvisation is admirable! I love the swapping of ingredients.