BBQ Tofu Kale Salad

This salad is inspired by my favorite salad from Roots Natural Kitchen, a fast casual lunch spot serving up some serious bowls and salads. Every time I go to Charlottesville, I am make sure to stop there and grab a “Southern Bowl”.

I make enough ingredients for this salad to make it a few times throughout the week. Once everything is prepped, it is super easy to throw together. This recipe has the approximate measurements to make one lunch bowl, but of course, switch it up as you like.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of shredded kale

• 1/4 cup of corn

• 1/4 cup of chickpeas

• 1/2 cup of roasted broccoli

• 1/4 cup of cooked wild rice (you can use quinoa, barley, or anything you like)

• 2 (large) tbsp of white cheddar cheese; cubed

• 1/4 cup of firm tofu; cubed

• 1 tbsp of BBQ sauce

• 1 tbsp of tahini; my favorite tahini is from Soom, it blows all other tahini’s out of the water

• 1 tbsp of lemon juice

• 1 generous “pinch” of pickled onions

Preheat your oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with tin foil. Roast your broccoli (with olive oil, salt and pepper) for about 15- 20 minutes until cooked but not soft. You still want your broccoli to have a crunch to it.

In a pan, heat up your corn for about 5- 6 minutes. Remove the corn from the pan and add in the tofu. Heat the tofu through completely and once it is cooked, add your BBQ sauce and make sure the tofu is covered in the sauce. Remove from heat and set aside.

Start building your salad buy adding the kale to your bowl. Massage the kale with your hands, this will break down the toughness of the leaves and make it a lot easier to eat. Add in your wild rice, chickpeas, corn, BBQ tofu, cheese, broccoli and the pickled onions. Drizzle your salad with tahini and lemon juice.

Toss and enjoy.

Notes: this salad is equally delicious with chicken or any other kinds of protein. I also like adding avocado to mine!

This is what the salad looks like mixed up.