Air fryer Green squash and chickpeas salad with tahini dressing
The air fryer is indeed a weird way to prepare salad but this salad is very simple. Yet very flavourful, loaded with layers of textures ad so satisfying! 30 minutes, less than 10 ingredients, naturally sweetened, vegan, gluten-free and so delicious!
2cupsbutternut squashdiced into bite-size (see notes)
1can (400g)chickpeas , washed and drained (see notes)
1tbspsweet Aleppo peppersee notes
2tbspextra virgin olive oil
1tspHimalayan saltor any salt you like
1tbspcurry powder
For the crunchy topping:
½cupchopped almonds
¼cupquinoanot cooked
1/2tbsp.extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
For the tahini date dressing:
4tbsptahini
3tbspextra virgin olive oil
2tbspwhite wine vinegarsee notes
1tbsptamarind paste
¼cupdatespitted and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
¼cupwarm watermaybe more to loosen up the dressing
Instructions
For air frying the salad: (see notes)
Start with the butternut squash because it takes more time. Preheat your air fryer to 200 C°.
peel the butternut squash, scoop the seeds from the inside, and cut them into cubes. Pour in a deep mixing bowl and season with the sweet Aleppo pepper, salt to taste, and 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Toss to coat all the squash cubes. Add to the air fryer basket and cook for 12 minutes or until crispy with golden brown roasted edges.
After the squash is done, roast the chickpeas: in the same bowl we toss the squash in before, add the chickpeas and add the curry powder along with ½ tbsp of the oil and salt to taste. Add to the air fryer and roast for 8 minutes at 200 C°. shaking a couple of times.
After the chickpeas are done time to roast the kale: just add them also to the same bowl you mixed the squash and chickpeas before and add some salt and massage the kale in the remaining sauces in the bowl. if it isn’t enough you can add ½ tbsp of oil. Add to the air fryer and roast for 3 minutes at 170 C °. Shake and check on it every minute so you won’t burn it.
At the end prepare the almond quinoa topping: in an air fryer safe pan, pour your chopped almonds and quinoa, drizzle ½ tbsp of olive oil and ¼ tsp of salt. Mix until everything is coated with the oil and salt. Roast in the air fryer for 5 minutes at 180 C°
Make the sauce:
while the vegetables are cooking in the air fryer, prepare your sauce. Just add all the ingredients into a blender or with a hand mixer blend until smooth. Keep adding warm water and mixing until you have a runny honey consistency.
Assemble:
lay your kale at first as a base then top it off with the squash then the chickpeas. Sprinkle the crunchy almonds and quinoa on top and drizzle your sauce. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Butternut squash: you can replace the butternut squash with sweet potato or pumpkin instead
Chickpeas: I usually buy dry chickpeas and cook them in my smart pot at home and store them in the freezer to use. So, you can do the same or use canned ones.
Aleppo pepper: there is a sweet and a spicy version of this spice, you can use one of them or a mix of both. Aleppo pepper is named after the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. It comes from a burgundy chile also known as the Halaby pepper. Once ripened, the peppers are semi-dried, de-seeded, and coarsely ground. It has a slow-building heat with earthy, cumin-y undertones and a little hit of fruity tang—and yes, it’s as delicious as it sounds. If you cannot find it you can replace it with smoked sweet paprika and chili flakes to taste. Or any chili pepper of your liking or even normal sweet paprika.
White wine vinegar: you can use any kind of vinegar you have on hand to give the required acidity
dressing consistency: if you make the sauce ahead of time, it will thicken with time but that is totally normal because of the tahini, just loosen it up again with some warm water before drizzling and serving.
Air frying time: the time of air frying the ingredients depend on one brand to another. In this recipe, I am using my instant vortex plus air fryer. Check on your ingredients always a couple of minutes earlier so you don’t burn the veggies. And depending on the brand you might want to add the cooking time until you have a crispy roasted finish.
Make ahead: you can prepare all the ingredients separately ahead of time, along with the dressing, and store it separately. But I recommend roasting your veggies before serving to maintain the maximum crunch. The sauce can be prepared 5 days ahead of time and stored in a glass jar in the fridge. For the veggies, you can prepare them the night before and store them in the fridge but they won’t keep the same texture and crunch.
leftovers: you store any leftovers in the fridge and enjoy them within 48 hours.
Air fryer safe pan: You can use any ovenproof dish or mold in the Air fryer, whether it is made of glass, ceramic, metal or silicone. I used this specific one if you like to check it.