Sweet Potato Salad
Eating at a Lebanese restaurant last spring sparked a mild obsession with all things Middle Eastern for me. Since then, I’ve been unable to get enough of hummus, falafel, grape leaves, fava beans, and eggplant in just about any form, and it has inspired me to research lesser known dishes of the diverse cuisines. One I’ve found is a sweet potato salad that is both savory and salty.
Many of the sweet potato recipes I’ve come across involve cooking the sweet potatoes with cumin, ginger, and paprika, throwing in a healthy dose of oil and olives, then serving warm. I like to stick with most of this plan, but prefer to serve it chilled.
The sweet potato salad recipe below uses most of the ingredients mentioned above but also has yellow tomatoes, parsley, and lemon juice to lighten things up a bit. And when served chilled, it’s the perfect end-of-summer treat. Enjoy!
Sweet Potato Salad
5 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika
Juice of 1 lemon
1 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup green olives, chopped
1 medium yellow tomato, wedged
3 Tbsp. chopped parsley
Salt, to taste
- In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the onions until translucent. Add the cumin, paprika, and lemon juice, stir, and then set aside to let cool.
- In a large pot, bring water to a boil over high heat, add the cubed potatoes, and let cook for about 15 minutes, or until soft. Drain and set aside until cool.
- In a large bowl, toss the cooled onion mixture with the potatoes, olives, tomato wedges, and parsley. Season with salt, then place in the refrigerator until chilled.
