Sweet Potato Salad

If you are familiar with my recipes you know that there are a few consistent themes: Greenmarket, greenmarket, and greenmarket. I wanted to work on a potato salad recipe, which meant, in my little world, thinking about some locally grown exotic spuds: Russian blues? Adirondack reds? Yellow finns? But then I thought, maybe some good old supermarket potatoes would do—although I couldn’t help but give it a spin and try a salad made with good old supermarket sweet potatoes.

Here’s what I came up with. It is a departure from the basic mayonnaise-laden Idaho potato salad, and with the addition of dried fruit and nuts, makes a satisfying side dish for vegetarians–and do I even need to point out all of the lovely antioxidants and nutritional integrity of the ingredients? (Although I’m not much of a meat-eater, I think the sweet spiciness of this dish would partner perfectly with the salty, smoky flavors of BBQ.)

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
3 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon curry powder (more or less, depending on the heat of your spice)
6 pounds sweet potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 cup chopped green onions
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup pecans, toasted, coarsely chopped
1 cup dried fruit (raisins, cherries, apricots, etc.)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Whisk together olive oil, maple syrup, lime juice, ginger, and curry powder. Set aside.

2. Boil or steam sweet potatoes for about 10 minutes, or until just tender. You can use a huge pot, or just do them in batches.

3. Transfer sweet potatoes to a bowl and let cool to room temperature.

4. Add the remaining ingredients and gently toss with dressing. Let stand for a bit to allow the flavors to mingle. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes 12 servings.

Read more: All recipes, Food, Side Dishes, BBQ, picnic, salad