SWEET POTATO & FETA SALAD

After not one, not two, but THREE Christmas lunches and dinners over the last few days, I decided that I needed a decent break from heavy meats, or meat in general. Hence came the idea for a sweet potato salad for dinner tonight. Now I know that as soon as I mention the word salad I may lose the interest of male readers, however hear me out boys. The dish below is one of the most filling and satisfying salads that I have eaten without the addition of meat. The chickpeas provide a substantial amount of protein, whilst the sweet potato has low GI which keeps you filled for longer. The pine nuts give the salad a little extra punch; they can be omitted for other nuts such as walnuts or almonds. If you are in dire need of detoxing that Christmas/Holiday season body I highly ecommend this salad!

INGREDIENTS

• 750g sweet potato, peeled & sliced into thin wedges
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 400g tin chickpeas, rinsed & drained 
• 150g reduced-fat feta, crumbled into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts
• 75g baby spinach leaves 
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
• pinch of sea salt 

COOKING 

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius fan-forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper. 

2. Combine sweet potato, garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ground cumin and coriander in a large bowl and toss well. Spread sweet potato out in a single layer on prepared baking tray and place in the oven for 20 minutes. 

3. Meanwhile, combine feta, lemon juice and parsley in a medium bowl. Toss well. 

4. After the sweet potato has been in the oven for 10 minutes, scatter the pine nuts on the oven tray amongst the sweet potato and continue to bake for another 10 minutes. 

5. Remove sweet potato from oven and allow it to cool for around 10 minutes. Place baby spinach leaves, chickpeas, feta mixture and cooked sweet potato in a large salad bowl and toss well to combine. 

x E