Sweet Potato Salad with Orange Maple Dressing

There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who love sweet potatoes, and those who don't. In our house it's about 50-50. I was raised on sweet potatoes. My mom was raised on sweet potatoes. Growing up, Mom cooked them all the time and served them with a little butter, hot out of the oven. We also ate cold sweet potatoes out of the fridge. We LOVED tempura sweet potatoes, a rare treat. To this day I love a good cold sweet potato, sliced as a snack. My kids think this is sick(sick, not in a cool way).

I first made this recipe a couple of years ago, and have since tried a few different variations. This is a great dish to serve as a side with a summer barbecue, winter meal, or a spring brunch. It is served cold or room temperature as a salad. We had it last week with salmon-yum! Try this on your Easter brunch table. The sweet potato people in your family will love it.

Sweet Potato Salad with Orange Maple Dressing

printable recipe

Dressing:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons fresh peeled minced ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons honey

Salad:

4 pounds red skinned sweet potatoes (yams)

2 pounds white skinned sweet potatoes

1/2 cup chopped green onion

1 cup fresh parsley (optional)

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted * (or sugared see below), coarsely chopped

1/2 cup golden raisins

1 small Fuji apple, cubed

Dressing:

Whisk all ingredients to blend in small bowl. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

For Salad:

Steam or bake potatoes until tender. Cool and peel. Slice into cubes about 3/4 inch. Transfer potatoes to large bowl. Completely cool to room temperature. Add green onions, parsley, pecans, raisins and apple. Pour dressing over salad ingredients. Toss gently to blend.

Tips:

-Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

-If you want to prepare the day before: cook the potatoes, peel and chop. Prepare the dressing and store in the refrigerator until day of serving salad. Chop the green onion and parsley. Place on top of the potatoes. Refrigerate. Next day, toss all remaining ingredients.

-I like to sugar the nuts in a teflon pan. Heat the pan over medium to med high, pour the nuts into the pan, sprinkle with about 1/4 cup sugar. Stir and cook just until sugar is melted and coats the nuts. Pour onto a piece of foil, cool and sprinkle with a couple more tablespoons of sugar.

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