Sunday, June 16, 2013

Sweet Potato Salad, Southern Kitchen style

The perfect accompaniment to a barbecued dinner? Potato salad. But after watching Trisha Yearwood's Southern Kitchen cooking show on Saturday, I knew I had to make it with sweet potatoes. Luckily, I had some sweet potatoes left from my SLO Veg box from two weeks ago. They were still good, not mushy at all, so I was in business!
I pretty much followed her recipe, with one variation. After I tasted a bite, I decided to add a tablespoon of honey just to sweeten it up a tiny bit. The result was awesome!


I prepped the sweet potatoes by peeling, slicing and cubing them into 1 inch chunks. Then they went into a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. You don't want to overcook the potatoes or the salad will turn to mush.

I drained the potatoes and rinsed them under cold water to stop the cooking. Then it was time to make the dressing so I assembled all the ingredients: mayonnaise, sour cream, red pepper, green onions, an orange, apple cider vinegar, Tabasco sauce, salt and pepper.
I measured out the sour cream and mayo, diced up the red pepper and green onions, grated the orange peel, salt and pepper, and added the apple cider vinegar and Tabasco sauce to my favorite mixing bowl. After giving it a stir, I tasted a bite. Mmm, pretty sour-creamy. I wanted a little more sweetness. My answer? Honey! Oh yeah, perfect with sweet potatoes. So I added a tablespoon full of honey and gave it another stir, then tasted again. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about! I like it!

So I had the salad all made and stored in the frig in a big plastic bowl. Tomorrow I could sleep in after working all night, and Lee could handle the barbecuing chores. Not really a chore for him, because he loves it. So he can be doing just exactly what he loves on Father's Day. Sure am glad I thought of this!

Trisha's recipe:
Ingredients

4 large sweet potatoes
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup diced scallions (about 6)
1 red pepper, finely diced
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
2 teaspoons orange zest
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco
Salt and pepper

Directions

Peel and cube the sweet potatoes and put them in a large pot. Cover with water, bring to a boil and boil until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

While the potatoes are cooling, in a medium bowl, mix the mayonnaise, yogurt, scallions, red pepper, chives, orange zest, apple cider vinegar and hot sauce. Add the cooled potatoes to the mixture, and toss until the potatoes are fully coated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Best served chilled. 
* Remember, I added some honey for a little more sweetness. That is the only deviation I did today with this one!

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