Sweet Potato Salad

I'm late to the sweet potato party but I'm making up for lost time. I'm not a huge fan of potatoes in general and the name sweet potato does not do this delicious, filling healthy object justice. With both of us working from home and me doing the majority of homeschooling I handed the cooking reigns over to Joe but since moving to Hampshire just before Christmas I have taken back one reign and will occasionally do a freezer filler or a filling salad for a healthy lunch and this is one of my go to's. 

You can of course tweak it to suit your tastes - I would always add pomegranate seeds, Joe can live without them - but this should be just what you need to liven up your working-from-home lunch break and you can cook the sweet potato, keep in the fridge and then make the salad when you need to which means it takes a matter of minutes. 

This is the basic recipe - I tend to do the sweet potato, I usually have feta in the fridge and some herbs and then add whatever else I have. Avocado is delicious in this as are a few spinach leaves. 

Sweet Potato & Feta Salad
serves 2

2 sweet potatoes 
1/2 block feta, cut into cubes
Pumpkin seeds and/or pine nuts
Pecans and/or almonds, chopped
Half a head of broccoli
1 tbsp teriyaki 
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
basil or any fresh herb you like
salt & pepper

For the dressing:
soy
honey
olive oil
fresh ginger

Pre-heat oven to 200C/

1. Peel the sweet potato and cut into cubes, you can par boil it or not. If you do it will reduce the time in the oven. Then toss in oil, cumin and turmeric and cook in the oven for about 40-45 minutes or until slightly crispy. 

2. In a small frying pan over a low heat sprinkle the pumpkin seeds and pine nuts with the teriyaki and cook briefly til they are coated and the teriyaki is sort of hardened onto the pan - not too much! If you don't have teriyaki soy will do just as well. Tip into your salad bowl and using your wooden spoon get the teriyaki off the bottom of the pan into the bowl too. 

3. Add the feta and then tear off tiny mini heads of broccoli into the bowl. It can seem ponderous but small bits of raw broccoli are amazing so worth it. 

4. Mix up the dressing and then put the sweet potato into the salad bowl, add the chopped nuts and the dressing. Add the basil and toss. Season to taste.