Autumn Kale Salad with Sweet Potatoes, Broccoli and Brown Rice

November. The school year is in full swing and the days are short now — dark when I leave, dark when I get home, the city lit up and orange from the streetlights on the drive back to Pilsen. I do not mind. I have never minded November. It is the month of soups and the smell of wood smoke from someone's chimney somewhere and the last of the farmers market before it closes for winter. I bought the final autumn squash on Saturday, a big Hubbard, for a dollar fifty.

Saw Babcia Rose on Sunday. She was better than I expected from Patty's report — not a hundred percent, but present, telling stories, asking questions. She asked about my students by the names I had given them in my descriptions (not real names, I am careful about this). She said "How is the boy with the books?" T., I said. She said "Is he reading more?" Yes, I said. She said "Good. The ones who read have a way in." I do not think she meant it as teaching advice specifically but it is the best teaching advice I have heard all year.

Made a sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving prep — I am going to Oak Lawn next week and Patty said I could bring a dish. I made this one as a test run: sweet potatoes mashed with butter and brown sugar and a little vanilla, topped with pecans and more brown sugar, baked at 350 for thirty minutes. It is essentially dessert pretending to be a side dish, which is the correct approach to sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving. Claudia tasted it and said "This is dessert." Correct. She had a second serving.

Babcia Rose tasted a piece on Sunday, since I brought the leftover test casserole along. She said "Too sweet." I said it is a sweet potato casserole, the sweetness is the point. She said "Salt." She added a pinch of salt to her piece. She was right. There is salt in the recipe now. There is always more to learn from the woman in the room who has been cooking for seventy years.

That test casserole led me straight back to sweet potatoes the following week — because once Babcia Rose added that pinch of salt and looked at me like I should have known, I could not stop thinking about how sweet potatoes shine when they are balanced, not just sweetened. This Autumn Kale Salad with Sweet Potatoes, Broccoli and Brown Rice is the weeknight answer to all of that: roasted sweet potatoes paired with something hearty and green, grounded by brown rice, the kind of bowl that feels like November in the best possible way. It is what I make when I want the spirit of the season on the table without waiting for a holiday.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 cups broccoli florets
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup brown rice, uncooked
2 1/4 cups water or low-sodium vegetable broth
4 cups curly kale, stems removed, leaves torn and massaged
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds or chopped pecans
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove, minced

Instructions

Cook the rice. Combine brown rice and water or broth in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30–35 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Roast the vegetables. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spread sweet potato cubes on one half of a large rimmed baking sheet and broccoli florets on the other half. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and the black pepper, and toss each separately to coat. Roast for 25–30 minutes, tossing once halfway, until sweet potatoes are tender and lightly caramelized and broccoli edges are crisp.
Prepare the kale. Place torn kale in a large bowl. Drizzle with a small splash of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Massage the leaves firmly with your hands for about 1 minute until they soften and turn a deeper green.
Make the dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt until emulsified.
Assemble the salad. Add the warm brown rice to the massaged kale and toss gently. Top with roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli, dried cranberries, and toasted pumpkin seeds or pecans. Drizzle dressing over the top and toss to combine, or serve dressing on the side.
Serve. Serve warm or at room temperature. Leftovers keep well refrigerated for up to 3 days; the kale holds up without getting soggy.

Nutrition (per serving)

Autumn Kale Salad with Sweet Potatoes, Broccoli and Brown Rice — The Test Run That Taught Me to Add Salt