sweet potato salad

I have mentioned a time or two that David tends to be reserved - most times about most things. This can be deflating but I try not to take it personally (which is  usually not terribly difficult since I know it is how he responds generally). So when he very enthusiastically exclaimed  - with the first bite still in his mouth  - "I love this!!" I just about fell off my chair. No joke. 

I almost passed this recipe by just because of the name. To be sure I love the good ol' picnic potato salad but balk at the thought of making one. It is knee-jerk. Potato salad = a lot of work + a mess in the kitchen in my head ... and that is really ridiculous because I regularly make a much bigger mess than a potato salad ever generates just because a recipe tempts me. Something kept pulling me back to the sweet potato salad idea and I am glad it did because like David I think this is really pretty good. It is crazy easy to make and although you probably don't want to advertise it as 'good for you' (since that is a sure way to prejudice anyone against anything) the truth is that it is really good for you. It looks pretty too and sometimes I am (almost) all about the way things look. lol Anyway I thought this needed to be shared.

I played with the proportions a bit- adding a lot more parsley and sweet potatoes than the recipe called for.

sweet potato salad

(adapted ever-so-slightly from Quinoa Revolution by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming)

1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup black quinoa
4 cups peeled sweet potato cut into 1/2" chunks
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped pecans
juice and zest from 1 lemon
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sea salt

Bring the water and quinoa to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. At the end of the 15 minutes cooking time, remove the lid, fluff with a fork and set aside to cool.

Put the sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan and add just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook just until tender - don't overcook! Drain and cool completely.

Put the sweet potatoes and quinoa in a large bowl together with the chopped parsley, pecans, lemon zest, and sliced green onion. Whisk the lemon juice (there should be about 1/4 cup juice), olive oil,sea salt, and ginger together to make the dressing. Pour over the quinoa/sweet potato combination and toss gently. Serve immediately.

Keeps well and makes a great next-day lunch.