Sweet Potato Salad vegan Ottolenghi style

I bought a huge sweet potato at my local supermarket. I had no idea what to do with it.

Google helped. One of my favourite Chefs is Jotam Ottolenghi. His vegetable recipes are often vegan, but not in your face.

I put all ingredients on my counter and looked over them, vegan!

Sweet potatoes as the name discribes are sweet. Raisins and Maple syrup are sweet too. The balance comes through lemon juice, dark vinegar, orange juice and a good helping of Korean hot pepper flakes, Gochugaru. The crunch is based on toasted pecans.

There is something for everybody in this salad.

Recipe:

850 g scrubbed unpeeled sweet potato

2 tbsp olive oil + cajun seasoning or any other kind you like

2 small green onions

40 g raisins soaked in 60 ml orange juice

4 tbsp flatleaf parsley

2 tbsp chopped coriander

60 g pecans, toasted in a dry pan, chopped

1/2 lemon juiced

2 tbsp orange juice

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tsp Gochugaru hot pepper flakes

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

2 tbsp dark vinegar

Salt, pepper

Preheat the oven 170 C fan and spread baking paper on top of a baking sheet.

Cut the sweet potato in 2 cm cubes, toss them in a bowl with olive oil and seasoning and pour them on the baking paper in a single layer. Bake for 15 min, then turn them and bake 15 more minutes. Take them out to cool for 10 min.

In a big bowl add soaked raisins with liquid, pecans, chopped herbs, fine cut green onion and the dressing and stir well. Put the warm sweet potatoes in the bowl and let them cool down in the dressing.

Serve at room temperature.