On Friday night, Carlo and I had a quiet night at home with a nice bottle of wine and we spent the evening cooking together. Our original menu included some bbq ribs, but upon defrosting the frozen ribs, they smelt a bit suspect so we quickly defrosted a pork tenderloin to grill instead. The Zatar-crusted pork came out excellent, but sadly the majority of it was accidentally dropped on the floor so we each only had 1 slice to taste.
Thank god, the Roasted Sweet Potato Salad With Black Beans and Chili Dressing that we had originally made as a side dish turned into a very last minute and desperate vegetarian main course. Roasted sweet potatoes are always a favourite of mine and they paired nicely with the spicy dressing and the fresh cilantro. This recipe feeds 4 people as a side dish (or 2 as a main course when disaster strikes) at $1.24 per serving.
Roasted Sweet Potato Salad With Black Beans and Chili Dressing, adapted from Mark Bittman’s The Minimalist
4 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 large red onion, chopped
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons minced fresh hot chili, like jalape?±o
1 clove garlic, peeled
juice of 2 limes
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Place the chopped sweet potatoes and onions in a large bowl and toss them with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and lots of salt and pepper. Spread the mixture into a single layer on a large baking sheet and roast them in the oven, turning occasionally, until the potatoes are tender and start to brown on their corners, around 40 minutes. Remove the roasted veggies from the oven and keep them on the baking sheet until you are ready to toss the salad.
While the sweet potatoes are roasting, whiz up the chilies, garlic, lime juice, remaining olive oil, salt, and pepper in a mini food processor to create the dressing. In another large bowl, dress the chopped red pepper and the black beans with half of the dressing and let it sit to infuse the flavour of the dressing into the beans.
Once the sweet potatoes are roasted, transfer the warm veggies into the bowl with the black beans and red pepper, and toss everything with the remaining salad dressing and chopped cilantro. Season the salad with salt and pepper as needed, and you can serve this sweet potato salad either warm or at room temperature.
