Grilled Sweet Potato Salad

Only in Sydney can one be wearing a winter coat one day and have a BBQ the next. I feel that spring is in the air and that instantly lifts my mood. I made this salad last weekend. Quikong went to the fish market to get some seafood which he cooked on the grill. It was suprisingly warm enough for us to sit in our backyard.

The produce that I wanted to highlight is the humble sweet potato. It is so versatile because it can be used in both savoury and sweet recipes. I used the brown skinned (orange fleshed) sweet potato for this salad. Less common in my family's kitchen is the purple skinned (white fleshed) sweet potato (photo below). Some people think that there is little difference in the flavours but when I was at the market, a man hawking his goods was trying to convince me to buy the purple sweet potatoes because "it's sweeter, sister!!". So, for the sake of "research", I bought both types, baked thick slices of each variety and did a taste test. I think that the orange-fleshed variety has a richer, deeper sweetness than the white-fleshed variety. But you will have to try it out for yourself and tell me what you think.

Since this post is for the Weekend Herb Blogging event which will be hosted this time by Melissa from The Cooking Diva, I had to do a bit of research about the sweet potato. I assumed that it was native to Asia since it thrives in moist, hot climates. Sweet potatoes are actually native to south America. At least I got the moist and hot part correct.

Sweet potatoes can be boiled, steamed, fried, grilled, baked. Basically anything goes. Even its leaves and shoots are edible. I love sweet potato in salads, a pie, candied, mashed, puddings and also made into not-so-healthy chips (crisps).

Grilled Sweet Potato Salad

1 medium orange-fleshed sweet potato, peeled and sliced
1 yellow capsicum(bell pepper)
1 red onion, cut into 6 wedges
1 garlic shoot*, chopped
baby spinach leaves
garlic infused olive oil
lemon juice
pumpkin seeds (pepitas), toasted
salt & pepper

(*garlic shoot is like a firmer chive which tastes like a cross between an asparagus and mild garlic. It can be eaten raw or cooked in stir-fries)

Preparation: Toss the sweet potato and onion in a little olive oil or spray with cooking spray. Knowing that Quikong was going to BBQ the seafood, I decided to grill the sliced sweet potato, capsicum and red onion wedges. When the skin of the capsicum starts to char, I placed it into a plastic container (or zip lock bag is also fine) to allow it to "sweat". Then, I removed the skin, sliced it thinly and marinated it in garlic infused extra virgin olive oil.

Assemble the salad: Place the spinach leaves on the plate, then the grilled sweet potato, then the marinated grilled capsicum. Drizzle some lemon juice and season with salt & pepper. Scatter the garlic shoots and pumpkin seeds over the salad.

Sushi and Sashimi Workshop:

On a different note, I am very excited because Quiking signed both of us up for a 4-hr Sushi and Sashimi workshop tomorrow with Hideo Dejura at the Sydney Seafood School. Hideo may not be as famous as Jamie Oliver, but he has written a few books and received awards. It's always fun to learn something new, food related or not. What is also great is that it was Quikong who suggested it and organised everything. I told you that he is a gourmand-in-denial!