Roasted sweet potatoes with kale and halloumi

A flavourful, colourful main or side dish!

This scrumptious dish is as tasty as it is beautiful and would make a great vegetarian main or side dish, especially as part of a holiday feast. An air fryer makes fast work of roasting the sweet potatoes, but they’re just as good when prepared in an oven. If you’re looking for a substitution for the pomegranate seeds, I suggest chopped, toasted walnut or roasted sesame seeds, perhaps with a little diced red pepper for a pop of colour. Raw or wilted baby spinach could be used in place of the kale, if you prefer.

Ingredients

Vinaigrette:

• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) maple syrup or honey
• Pinch each salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons (45 mL) olive oil
• 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) olive oil, divided
• Few pinches sea salt and pepper
• 3 large kale leaves
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) water
• 1 block (160 g / 5.65 oz) halloumi
• 2 tablespoons (.6 oz) pomegranate seeds, to garnish

Method

• Preheat oven or air fryer to 400F. If using oven to roast potatoes, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• In a small jar with a tight lid, shake together the lemon juice, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Add 3 tablespoons (45 mL) of olive oil and shake again; set aside.
• Peel sweet potatoes and cut into uniformly-sized cubes approximately 3/4 inch (2 cm). Place in a bowl and drizzle with 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of the olive oil. Toss to evenly coat potatoes then sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and toss again.
• Transfer to the prepared baking sheet or air fryer basket (do not rinse bowl that held the sweet potatoes). Roast, tossing occasionally, until just tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife (about 12 minutes for air fryer; 25 minutes for oven).
• While potatoes are cooking, strip kale off stems and tear leaves into 2 inch (5 cm) pieces. Place in the bowl you used for the potatoes and drizzle with 1 teaspoon (5 mL) of the remaining olive oil. Rub oil into kale with your hands.
• Heat a large skillet with a lid over medium heat, then quickly sauté kale for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add 1 tablespoon water and cover skillet. Let kale steam for 1 – 2 minutes, until wilted. Transfer kale to the same bowl you used before and set aside.
• Slice halloumi into strips about 1/4 inch thick and set aside (don’t cut into bite-sized pieces yet or it will be challenging to fry so many pieces).
• When potatoes are cooked, transfer to a serving bowl with the wilted kale and drizzle with half of the prepared dressing. Toss gently and set aside.
• Heat the skillet you used for the kale over medium-high heat. Swirl in the remaining 2 teaspoons (10 mL) of oil then fry halloumi pieces, flipping once, until golden brown on both sides. Remove to a clean plate or cutting board and cut into pieces approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) in size.
• Add halloumi to the potatoes and kale and drizzle with the remaining dressing; toss gently.
• Scatter pomegranate seeds on top and serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side dish.