If this dish were a band, the smoky chipotle in the dressing would be the bass. It provides a warm, smoky heat that always lets you know it’s there in the background, gently complimenting but never overpowering the other players. Fresh, grassy, sweet, hot, smoky – as far as sweet potato recipes go, this one is unique.
Far too many people boil their potatoes for my liking – we will be roasting our sweet potatoes for this dish. “Why?” you may ask.
Boiling doesn’t allow sugar to caramelize, and sucks nutrients out into the cooking water. Roasting, on the other hand, preserves the nutrients and the dry heat allows a chemical reaction to take place on the surface of the veggies that caramelizes the sugar and makes them taste sweet. The dry heat also allows some moisture from the veggies to evaporate, intensifying the flavor.
So to recap:
Boiling: Less flavor, fewer nutrients, resulting in mushy, lifeless food.
Roasting: More flavor, more nutrients, resulting in colorful food with texture.
You with me?
Notes for Roasted Sweet Potato, Onion, and Mushroom Salad with Smoky Red Pepper Dressing
- You’ll notice I haven’t given instructions for roasting the veggies – laziness? A bit, but there’s more to it that that. I normally like a recipe where all the steps are clear and laid out, but there are lots of great resources online for looking up how to properly roast veggies, and at what temps and times, and I see no need to repeat it here. I also like to leave cook times up to you so you can cook your veggies how you like them. A little oil and salt and pepper is always a good idea, and feel free to play around with different spices. I generally use canola or vegetable oil as it is pretty flavorless and thus allows the other flavors in the dish to shine. Plain old olive oil is also a good choice, and I’m not talking the fancy extra-virgin stuff – the heat from roasting will dissolve any of the complex flavors you’re paying for with fancy and expensive olive oils, so the cheap stuff is the way to go here.
- Cumin, coriander, salt and pepper are a great combo of flavors to roast your veggies with for this dish!
- Chipotles are dried, smoked jalapeños, often found canned in a sauce called adobo. They bring a soothing, warm heat to the dressing. If you like spice you can use more than 1 or 2, but be warned – they are potent! The first time I tested this recipe I used 4 and it was almost unpalatable it was so overpowering. It only takes a little to add lots of flavor. You can use a small spoonful (a teaspoon or so) of the liquid the chipotles are packed in if you don’t want a lot of heat.
- Do your gut a favor and leave the sweet potato skins on! It’ll be quicker, easier prep, and the skin is where most of the nutrients reside. A win-win!
Roasted Sweet Potato, Onion, and Mushroom Salad with Smoky Red Pepper Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 medium Sweet Potatoes, diced and roasted in olive oil, salt and pepper
- A few big Handfuls Button or Portobello Mushrooms, roasted in olive oil, salt and pepper
- 1 large Onion, chopped (or quartered and peeled into leaves) and roasted in olive oil, salt and pepper
- Small Handful Cilantro to garnish (optional)
Smoky Red Pepper Dressing
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 1-2 canned Chipotle peppers
- 1 Tablespoon Honey
- 2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons White Onion, raw
- 1/4 Cup Canola Oil
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Make the dressing. We'll start with roasting our red pepper. Turn broil setting on oven up to high heat and toss your pepper directly on the top oven rack. You can place an empty baking sheet below as the pepper will drip a bit. (You could also do this on a really hot grill.)
- Broil and use tongs to flip every few minutes until the skin of the pepper is blackened all over (see picture below). Once finished, take out of oven, place in a heat proof bowl, cover, and let sit for 5-10 minutes.
- As peppers are resting, place your raw Onion. chopped roughly, in a blender with your Red Wine Vinegar and let sit until peppers are ready. Since we're using raw onion, letting them sit in the acidic vinegar will cook them just a tiny bit, enough to get that acrid, raw oniony flavor out so it doesn't overpower the dish.
- If you try to peel the skin off the pepper right after taking out of the oven, the steam will burn you! Covering the bowl will allow steam to build up, gently cooking the peppers. After the 5-10 minutes, peel the skin off the pepper as best you can (all the black, charred bits should be gone), and get rid of the seeds – we just want the flesh of the pepper. Place in the blender along with your onion, vinegar, and the rest of the ingredients for the dressing and blend until smooth. Season with Salt and Pepper.
- Spoon your roasted veggies onto a plate, spoon the dressing over, and rip some cilantro leaves over the top.
