Sweet Potato Salad

Since moving to the US, Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Getting the family together, cooking and eating good food and just enjoying each other’s company without any additional stress about gifts or going somewhere outside the house. However, this year Thanksgiving looked a lot different in my house, no family around as everybody was hunkering at their own places due to the pandemic. We did manage to eat Thanksgiving dinner together over Zoom, so of course I had to cook something for myself.

I used to not like sweet potatoes and especially the Thanksgiving sweet potato dishes didn’t taste good as they were - well, sweet. About 10 to 15 years ago I came upon this recipe in a magazine (sorry I don’t remember which one) and it has been truly a game changer for me as it comes to sweet potatoes. I have made it every Thanksgiving since and also at other occasions. And best of all it encouraged me to get more creative with sweet potatoes which I now consider favorites. Though I still grinch on the sweet dishes or even if I am served sweet potato fries with cinnamon and sugar.

As I was cooking for just myself I pared the recipe down quite a bit, so don’t look at the picture to determine how much the recipe yields. This serves at least 6 as a side dish, on a Thanksgiving buffet even more.

INGREDIENTS:

4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

1 large red onion, chopped

2 15 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 red hot chili or jalapeno, minced

1 clove garlic (or to taste)

Juice of 2 limes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

STEPS:

Heat the oven to 400 F. Lay the sweet potatoes and onions on a large baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and toss to coat evenly and spread to single layer. Roast for about 20 min, turn everything and roast for another 10 to 20 min, until potatoes begin to brown and are tender inside. Remove from oven.

In a food processor combine the chilies with garlic, lime juice, remaining olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth.

Combine the warm potatoes and onions with beans, red bell pepper and cilantro in a large bowl. Toss with the dressing and enjoy warm or let cool down to room temperature. You can refrigerate the leftovers and serve cold the next day, it still tastes delicious.