SWEET POTATO MIXUP

This isn't so much of a salad as a kind of boiled, washed and toasted mixup of sweet potato, baby spinach, avocado, sunflower seeds, pepitas, coconut and nuts. However, if I made that the title of this meal I'm sure you wouldn't still be reading! This is my new favourite lunch to make; it fills me up, gets my daily vegetable intake soaring and gives me ample amounts of energy to tackle the rest of my day. I love it so much I've made it several times in the past two weeks, even though its been as humid as hell in my non a/c kitchen. What I especially love about this meal is that you can substitute any ingredients that you have on hand. One day I toasted chopped walnuts instead of almonds, another day I used fresh chives and basil in the place of parsley. And not being an avid measurer in the kitchen, I love the fact that I can place 'a handful' of most of the ingredients into this salad and I know that the dish will still taste delicious! 

Ingredients

Salad

• 800g sweet potato, weighed after being peeled & cut into small, even pieces
• a large handful of pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• a large handful of sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup almonds/walnuts, roughly chopped
• a large handful of roughly shredded coconut 
• 1 large handful of baby spinach
• 1 large handful of rocket
• 1 large handful of any type of lettuce 
• 1/4 cup of fresh parsley/chives/and or basil, finely chopped

Avocado paste/dressing

• 2 medium avocados
• the juice of 1 large lime or 2 medium limes 
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped/crushed

Cooking 

1. Place the sweet potato in a small to medium saucepan with enough water to cover the potato. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for 6 -7 minutes or until the potato is tender but not mushy. Remove from heat and drain in cold water. 

2. Whilst the potato is cooking, place the pepitas, sunflower seeds, nuts and coconut in a small to medium frypan over low heat. Stir often, toasting the ingredients until fragrant and/or until the coconut pieces begin to brown. Turn off the heat and leave to sit for a little longer on the stove, as the ingredients will continue to toast. 

3. Make the avocado dressing by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl. Mash the avocado until smooth and add a splash of water at a time to get the dressing to your desired consistency. (I like my dressing to be like a paste; you may prefer yours runnier). Season to taste. 

4. Combine the cooked sweet potato, toasted nuts, baby spinach and herbs in a medium serving bowl. Dollop the avocado paste/dressing on top and serve warm. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / 10 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 15 minutes 

x Emily