Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

Submitted by Nattycook.com

"The humble sweet potato is such a rich flavour base for fresh herbs, garlic and onions."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 1 kg sweet potato
• 6 whole french shallots
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts
• 1 1⁄2 cups Baby Spinach
• olive oil
• cracked black pepper
• salt
• 50 ml olive oil
• 25 ml balsamic vinegar
• 1 garlic clove

directions

1. Start by peeling and chopping the sweet potato into bite size cubes. Peel the outer layer from the shallots and the garlic. It doesn't matter if there is a little skin left because it will come off easily after roasting.
2. I send the kids out to pick the herbs, because they love helping, and they also love catching the grasshoppers that seem to love my herbs! I just remove the leaves from the stalks and leave them whole.
3. Put the potato, shallots and garlic in a baking tray and drizzle with a little of the olive oil. Sprinkle with the pine nuts, a little salt and pepper and the herbs and, using your hands, gently toss the potato so the oil coats everything.
4. Bake these for about half an hour at 170 degrees Celcius or until the potato and shallots are tender but not too soft. You probably will need to turn them halfway through cooking so they go all golden and yummy!
5. While they are cooking, and the herbs and garlic are wafting through the kitchen, you can make the dressing. Just mix the oil and balsamic together. When the garlic that is roasting is soft, just pinch one of those from the oven, squash it a bit and add it to the oil and vinegar!
6. When the potatoes are cooked, let it cool for a bit, before adding it to the spinach because the heat will make them wilt a little. Check that shallots are skin free, and then add it all together in a bowl and drizzle some of the dressing over the top. Toss it gently so the balsamic and oil coat the leaves (they can be a little tough to eat raw!) and the potatoes.
7. This is also yum as a main meal with a bit of fetta cheese. I like the creamy Danish style!