ROAST
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with foil paper.
In a large pot of boiling water, blanch the kale. Drain and dry (you could spin dry them if you have a salad spinner) as much water of as you can with a towel, and line the kale on a foil lined baking sheet.
Spread the sweet potato chunks on the second baking sheet. Drizzle on some olive oil (I used my Sicilian extra-virgin)and sprinkle with salt. Using clean hands (or a spoon), toss it all together to coat. Bake for about 25 minutes.
Remove roasted sweet potato, pecans, and pumpkin seeds from the oven.
Place both trays in the oven.
Bake for 10 minutes, take both trays out and give the veggies a stir, and then bake the kale for about 5 more minutes. The kale should be a little dried out (not brown and crisp). They should be tender and light brown around edges (you don’t want them dark brown and crispy). Set aside.
Another option for the kale is to prep them (remove tough inside stems if it has any). Chop kale into small pieces. Wash, spin dry.
If you’re using curly kale, you could massage the leaves with olive oil (it does make them more tender).
During last few minutes of roasting potatoes, spread the pecans and pumpkin seeds on the baking sheet and roast 3 to 4 minutes, until golden-brown.
The sweet potatoes should take 20-25 minutes to be ready (depends on your oven and how big you cut the pieces).
Remove roasted sweet potato, pecans, and pumpkin seeds from the oven.
While the veggies are roasting, prep the rest of the salad.
Start with the apple. Peel and core the apple. Cut into small chunks and put in a small bowl. Squeeze lemon juice on the apples (prevents browning); set aside.
DRESSING
Add all the dressing ingredients into a high-speed blender or food processor (or mini-prep food processor) and blend for 20-30 seconds, or until smooth. If dressing is too thick, you can thin it out with a little more lemon juice or a few drops of olive oil. Check the flavor and adjust with more lemon juice or another drop of olive oil, salt and pepper, if needed. Set aside.
Alternatively, you can whisk ingredients together in a bowl or shake until incorporated in a mason jar.
In a large bowl, add the kale and sweet potatoes. Add in the apples (lemon juice drained).
Add in the cranberries, pecans and pumpkin seeds.
Drizzle on the tahini dressing. Serve warm (or room temperature). If not eating right away, refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days.