Kale, Avocado and Broccoli Salad with Tahini Dressing with homemade raw tahini – Vegan version

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Tahini sauce

1. 1
   Grind the sesame seeds in a powerful blender about 3 minutes, until smooth paste forms.

   Blender

   💡At first the sesame looks like dry crumbs: keep grinding, scraping down the sides, and after a few minutes it releases its oil and turns liquid.

   💡In a food processor, grind in short pulses and check between pulses: it's easy to go from coarse to paste. (Sesame for tahini, on the other hand, is ground continuously.)
2. 2
   Taste and adjust the seasoning.
3. 3
   Mix the tahini, date syrup, olive oil and lemon juice.
4. 4
   Gradually add cold water while stirring, until the sauce is as thick as yogurt.

   💡When you add the first water, the tahini thickens and looks like dough: that's fine. Keep adding water and stirring, and it loosens into a smooth sauce.

To assemble

1. 5
   Break the broccoli into small florets.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 6
   Cook the broccoli in a pot of salted water 2 minutes, until slightly tender.

   StovePot

   💡The water should taste like a seasoned soup, not like sea water: a heaping teaspoon of salt per liter. Add the salt once the water is boiling.
3. 7
   Drain and immediately transfer the broccoli to a bowl of ice water so it stays green and crisp. Drain.

   ColanderIce bath
4. 8
   Toast the pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat 3–4 minutes, stirring, until the pumpkin seeds start to pop. Let cool slightly.

   StoveFrying pan

   💡Toast over medium heat and keep things moving: nuts, pine nuts and spices go from toasted to burnt in seconds. Transfer to a plate right away, since the hot pan keeps toasting.
5. 9
   Halve the tomatoes.

   KnifeCutting board
6. 10
   Slice the red cabbage into very thin strips.

   KnifeCutting board
7. 11
   Remove the tough stems from the kale leaves and cut them into thin strips.

   KnifeCutting board
8. 12
   Transfer the kale to a bowl, sprinkle with the salt and massage with your hands for 2 minutes, until the kale softens, darkens and shrinks by about a third.

   Bowl
9. 13
   Put the kale, red cabbage, broccoli and tomatoes in a large bowl.

   Bowl
10. 14
    Pour in most of the dressing and toss well.
11. 15
    Arrange the vegetables on a serving plate, top with the avocado sliced lengthwise and drizzle the rest of the dressing on top.
12. 16
    Just before serving, sprinkle the pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds on top.