Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

Here’s a delicious, light and healthy way to enjoy your sweet potatoes other than baked, mashed or roasted out the oven.  While I’m yet to encounter a sweet potato recipe I didn’t enjoy, you may not feel like the typical baked, mashed, roasted or soup variant of the ever so popular sweet potato during the hotter months!

This Roasted Sweet Potato Salad is the perfect “summer-time way” to enjoy your sweet potatoes (while packing in all their nutritional glory!), and is also a recipe you won’t tire of all year round (a perfect winter time salad too when you don’t feel like eating a big bowl of lettuce leaves)!

A versatile dish that’s extremely simple to prepare, it can be served warm, at room temperature or made in advance and kept in the fridge.  It’s perfect for a picnic, barbeque or just to have on hand as an adaptable starter, side dish or addition, to practically ANY meal – be it fish, chicken, meat or eggs, or mixed into a green salad, with grains or any other veg!  It’s equally as good eaten just as is, and pairs deliciously with a generous dollop of hummus, tahini or ketchup (yes, it is in fact healthy!)

Apart from being tantalisingly tasty, sweet potatoes are an excellent source of antioxidants & Vitamin A.  This superfood is also packed full of fibre, potassium, folate, Vitamin C, iron, copper and, perhaps most importantly, the anti-oxidant beta-carotene, which also helps protect against cardiovascular disease and cancer.  High carotene intake has also been linked to a 20% decrease in post-menopausal breast cancer and up to a 50% decrease in incidence of cancers of the bladder, cervix, prostate, colon, larynx, lung and oesophagus.  Additionally, not only do sweet potatoes pack in a good amount of iron, they also contain copper – a mineral that helps your body absorb iron!

Free from any added sugar and low in fat and calories, this recipe is super “waist-line” and Food Effect friendly!

I use coconut oil to roast the sweet potatoes, which provides an endless array of health benefits – from glowing skin to benefitting the heart, brain and digestive system – due to its unique healthy fat content, vitamins, minerals and antibacterial effects.  The rich source of healthy fats [medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs)] found in coconut oil have been shown to help lower the risk of heart disease by increasing healthy (HDL) cholesterol without raising unhealthy (LDL) cholesterol.  These wondrous MCT’s also help with weight management by reducing appetite, boosting metabolism and increasing the activity of fat-burning cells!

So in case it’s guilt-free deliciousness wasn’t enough to convince you, there are more than enough good reasons to give this Roasted Sweet Potato Salad recipe a whirl whilst! 🙂

Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 kg sweet potatoes, peeled
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
2 spring onions, sliced
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted

Dressing

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. soya sauce (or tamari – for wheat-free version)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

Cut the peeled sweet potatoes into 2cm slices.  Combine sweet potato, coconut oil, onion, garlic and thyme in a baking dish and mix well to coat.  Bake at 180°C for around 30 minutes, (or until sweet potato is soft and tender), stirring once halfway through.  Remove from oven and set aside.  Combine dressing ingredients in a glass jar and shake well to mix together.  Add roasted sweet potato mixture, spring onions, sesame seeds and dressing into a large bowl.  Stir well to combine all ingredients and coat through.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature.  Enjoy! 🙂