Squash and Kale Salad with Tigernuts

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The sweet and nutty taste of tigernuts makes the tiny tubers a perfect topping for salad. In this recipe, tigernuts garnish a salad made from acorn squash, kale and bacon. Each bite has a range of sweet, salty, spicy, and pleasantly bitter flavors.

Tigernuts are a Primal and paleo friendly snack that can be eaten straight out of the bag. Though the flavor is good, the texture of tigernuts can be a little dry and chewy when eaten alone. But when tossed into an olive oil drenched salad, with creamy acorn squash and fatty bacon, tigernuts don’t taste dry at all. In this salad, tigernuts are a tasty contrasting texture.

High in prebiotic fiber (resistant starch), tigernuts can be helpful for feeding gut flora. All that fiber can also lead to digestive distress, if too many tigernuts are eaten at once. So go slow, and don’t eat too many out of the bag before you toss a small handful into this delicious salad.

Time in the Kitchen: 1 hour

Servings: 4 to 6

Ingredients

• 1 acorn squash, halved and seeded?5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided (75 ml)
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (2.5 m)
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika (2.5 ml)
• 1 bunch curly kale, ribs removed, leaves torn into small pieces
• 1/3 cup tiger nuts, chopped (tigernuts can also be purchased sliced) (50 g)
• 2 pieces cooked bacon, crumbled

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425F / 220C.

Slice the squash into 1/2-inch thick crescents. Toss them in a bowl with 3 tablespoons/45 ml olive oil, plus the garlic, red pepper flakes and smoked paprika.

Spread out the squash on a baking sheet in a single layer. Lightly salt. Roast for 25-45 minutes, or until tender and golden. Flip the squash once while it cooks.

Toss the kale with the remaining 2 tablespoons/30 ml olive oil. Massage the oil into the leaves for a few minutes. Set aside.

Take the baking sheet out of the oven and slide the squash slices off. Spread the kale out on the hot baking sheet and cook for 3 minutes, just until it begins to wilt.

On a platter or in a large bowl, combine the kale and acorn squash. Garnish with tigernuts and bacon.

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Filed under: Fitness