Healthy Recipe, Sweet Potato and Peanut Salad with Indian Spices

If you’re looking for something delicious, different, and healthy to take to a holiday get-together, this recipe, lightly adapted from chef Vishwesh Bhatt’s cookbook, “I Am From Here: Stories and Recipes from a Southern Chef,” could be your answer. Full of dazzling colors, flavors, and vitamin A, this is definitely not your mama’s marshmallow-topped casserole. The

creamy dressing is spicy, tangy, and just a tiny bit sweet, and the peanuts add protein and unexpected crunch that will have vegans and nonvegans alike coming back for seconds. For a smaller crowd, the recipe can easily be cut in half. Serves 8. RECIPE HERE. — Susan Puckett

Ingredients

3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 8 cups raw)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

For the dressing:

·         1 teaspoon cumin seeds

·         ¼ cup Creole or other grainy mustard

·         2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter, preferably all-natural

·         1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

·         A few dashes of hot sauce

·         1 teaspoon maple syrup

·         1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or ¼ teaspoon ground)

·         ¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

To finish the salad:

·         ¾ cup minced red onion

·         ¾ cup minced red bell pepper

·         ½ cup sliced scallions (green tops only; reserve white part for another use)

·         1 serrano or jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded and minced

·         1 cup roasted lightly salted peanuts, chopped

·         ½ cup dried unsweetened cranberries or seedless raisins, chopped if

·         desired

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment.

2. In a large bowl, combine the sweet potato cubes, olive oil, and salt and toss to coat. Spread them in a single layer on the prepared sheet pan and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, or until just soft. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

3. Meanwhile, make the dressing: Toast the cumin seeds in a small, dry pan over medium heat, shaking the pan gently, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let cool.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the mustard, peanut butter, 1 tablespoon of the lime juice, hot sauce, syrup, toasted cumin seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne to taste, if using. Thin with a little more lime juice if needed.

5. In a large bowl, combine the cooled sweet potatoes with the onion, bell pepper, scallion greens, chile, peanuts, and dried cranberries or raisins.

6. Pour the dressing over the salad and gently mix to distribute and coat the vegetables. Taste and adjust with more salt if desired. Serve at room temperature.

NOTE: Leftovers may be stored in a covered container for up to 2 days. If preparing the salad in advance, leave out the peanuts and stir them in before serving so they retain their crunch.

Susan Puckett is an Atlanta-based food writer and cookbook author.