What’s so sweet about a Sweet Potato Salad?

Are you a person that sometimes likes to try new things?  Do you get tired of a routine that revolves around eating the same things? Or do you want to just add a little spice to your palate but venturing off the normal but keeping it still close to home? 

Then we have got a salad for you.  The American Potato Salad is an all time favorite. A starch surrounded by a creamy acidic dressing.  So we wanted to take that concept and sub out with sweet potatoes for starters.  I love the colors of sweet potatoes. They come in oranges, purples and whites.  They are packed with sweetness and hold onto dressings just like russet potatoes.

And what about the dressing. Now this is where it gets interesting. Because the potatoes are naturally sweet, we don’t need to rely on adding any more sweetness. Instead we can make things interesting by adding spices.  Some heat with peppers, some curious spices of cumin and caraway and to balance there is lemon, vinegar, and tomato.  We are making a red sauce in the style of North Africa known as harissa. Don’t let the name steer you away. It’s just another way of saying pesto in another language. It really means to mash up or break down similarly to making pesto or even a salsa.

The core concept is to break down chili peppers into a paste and then add whatever spices or other ingredients you prefer.  In our harissa we add fresno chillies, paprika, and then tomatoes and vinegar. And to make it creamy, some extra virgin olive oil.  For color contrast we garnish with cilantro and mint.  

So the next time you are looking for a colorful composed salad for your next gathering, consider a sweet potato salad full of spices, flavors, sweet and sour and aromatic.