Come winter time, I love to continue to eat salads as leafy greens are in season and I believe nature has given us an abundance of them for a reason (to keep us well through the sneezing season, for more on that click here). However I always ‘warm’ them up by adding cooked vegetables, nuts, seeds and most importantly warming aromatic herbs and spices.
So I give you this Winter Potato Salad as a beautiful, nourishing addition to your winter salad list.
Take a look at the variations (below the main recipe) for suggestions to alter the recipe to suit many dietary requirements.
For lots more sides and salad inspo, take a look at my hugely popular ebook ˜Well Nourished Sides and Salads’– where vegetables become the hero of the dish! It’s great value at just $9.95, click HERE to take a look.
Winter Sweet Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 100 g leafy greens -such as watercress (my preference), rocket or baby spinach.
- 2 tbsp butter, ghee or coconut oil
- 1 tbsp rice malt syrup or maple syrup
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper -to taste
- 1 sweet potato/s (large) diced into approx. 1.5cm chunks (you can peel it or leave the skin on)
- 70 g raw almonds (½ cup)
- 1 clove/s garlic -unpeeled
Chickpeas
- 1 tbsp butter, ghee or coconut oil
- 425g can chickpeas -drained and rinsed (or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas)
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- Pinch sea salt -to taste
- ½ lemon/s -zest and juice
Dressing
- 3 tbsp olive oil -extra virgin
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp rice malt syrup or maple syrup
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper -to taste
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180℃/350°F.
- In a small pot combine the ghee, butter or coconut oil, syrup, cinnamon and seasoning over a low heat unit the fat has melted and ingredients combined.
- Place the sweet potato, almonds and the whole garlic clove in a baking dish and pour over the above mixture, tossing to coat the sweet potato and almonds well. Arrange in a single layer and bake for 20-30 minutes until the sweet potato is just cooked through.
- Now prepare your chickpeas. Without rinsing the small pot, add the ghee, butter or coconut oil and heat gently to melt. Now add the chickpeas, spices and seasoning and stir over a low heat until you can start to smell the spices (just a few minutes).
- Remove from the heat and stir in the juice and zest. Set aside.
- Place you leafy greens in a serving bowl or plate.
- Once the potato is cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- Make you dressing by combining all of the ingredients, together with the flesh squeezed from the baked clove of garlic.
- Just prior to serving, toss the dressing through the leaves to coat and top with the cooled sweet potato, almonds and chickpeas.
Make-ahead
- Prep all of your ingredients and assemble/ dress the salad just prior to eating.
Store
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Variations
Nut-free
Substitute the almonds with sunflower seeds.Legume-free
Replace the chickpeas with a cup of cooked quinoa or buckwheat.Garlic-free
Omit the garlic, there are enough lovely flavours so you won't miss it.Fructose-friendly
Choose rice malt syrup as your sweetener.Vegan
Choose olive oil as your cooking fat.Make it go further
Add a cup of cooked quinoa, diced or shredded chicken or a can of tuna.I'd love to hear if you like this recipe as much as I do. Post a comment or rate this recipe (which really helps it to reach more people).
Cherrylussh says
Looks great, but I can’t eat Chick Peas cooked like that (hummus, etc is fine). Do you have any substitute that would work equally well? Many thanks.
Georgia Harding says
Check out the legume-free variation above, either would be great G x
Cherrylussh says
Many thanks. … Should have read it better, sorry!
Ilka Mills says
I made your salad tonight with spinach and served it with BBQ marinated chicken(coconut milk, coconut oil, coriander, chilli, garlic, cumin, lime juice and rapadura sugar) . The flavours in your salad were delicious. Definitely make this again. Thank you so much Georgia.
Georgia Harding says
Thanks for taking the time to post me feedback Ilka. I make a very similar chicken marinade and the flavours are just perfect for this salad, I’m glad you enjoyed it G x
Jackie Tracy says
I made this on the weekend and it was great. Had the leftovers the next day for lunch and they were amazing! Definitely worth making extra for the next day!
Georgia Harding says
Glad you enjoyed it for dinner and lunch Jackie- Yes chickpeas are best the next day (they take on loads more flavour). Thanks for the feedback G x
Rikki says
OMG best looking and tasting salad I have ever made. Can’t wait to impress some guests now I’ve tried it out on hubby and got the tick of approval.
Georgia Harding says
This has been popular – one of my personal favourites. So glad you both enjoyed it Rikki G x
Penny says
I made this for the first time this week n finished it off for lunch today….so so good!!! I thought the amount of chick peas would turn me off as sometimes I find them really dry but they were really, really good in this salad! Thanks Georgia, another great recipe of yours added to my family table!
Georgia Harding says
You’re very welcome Penny – so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the 5 stars too G x
Ngaire says
This salad is so good!!! I’m eating it right now but had to stop to let you know how much I’m enjoying the beautiful flavours. Thank you, this will be a regular for me.
Georgia Harding says
So glad you love it Ngaire. Thanks for writing and rating the recipe too, Georgia x
Jessica Denholm says
I could eat this every week. Perfect flavour combination. Kids even ate the greens!
Georgia Harding says
Agree, it’s one of my faves too Jessica G x