There has been a recent phenomenon in my house....everyone except the youngest has started eating salads for lunch....of their own accord! This is amazing....I could not be happier. It started off with my daughter wanting to try Caesar salad, then asking her father to cook chicken for it, her brother and father also eating it and then ended up with me remembering my favorite dish from Cape Cod Coffee (before Covid)...the Yoga Bowl which had Quinoa, Greens, Sweet Potatoes and an over easy egg on top (delish!). I decided to be thrifty and roasted up some sweet potato fries as a side dish for dinner, stashed away the leftovers in the fridge in a secret corner and enjoyed them atop a salad 3 days in a row. I highly encourage cooking and planning ahead this way...you feel very accomplished and enjoy a delicious dinner and lunch(es) that are healthy and filling!
Sweet Potato Fry Salad
(Fries take approximately 50 mins - 10 mins prep and 40 mins to cook)
Ingredients for the fries (good as a side for dinner):
4 large sweet potatoes (plan one potato per person and there will be leftovers)
Olive Oil (in a cruet or something that allows you to drizzle, not pour)
Kosher Salt
Instructions for Fries:
1. Preheat oven to 425 F
2. Peel the sweet potatoes and then cut in half, then cut each half into slices (about a 1/4 inch thick)
3. Spread potatoes in a large, rimmed baking sheet using multiple baking sheet pans as needed so the potatoes can be in a flat layer
4. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle approximately 1 tsp kosher salt, per pan over potatoes, mixing with hands (you don't want a pool of olive oil....just enough to thoroughly cover potatoes...this helps them be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside)
5. Bake potatoes on top rack of oven for 40 mins or until browned on outside and soft on inside (use a fork to test), flipping over with a spatula halfway thru
6. Serve alongside your favorite meat, rice (really good with Rice Pilaf) or even cooked vegetables for a nutritious dinner
7. Mangia!
Ingredients for Salad:
Leftover Sweet Potato Fries, cut up in bite size pieces
Mixed Greens (your choice)
Gorgonzola Cheese Crumbles (could use Goat or Bleu Cheese Crumbles as well)
Dried Cranberries
Toasted Pecans (or any other nuts you would like for protein)
Olive Oil
Vinegar
Kosher Salt
Instructions for Salad:
1. Assemble salad to your liking using the quantities that make sense for you
2. Pack for work and Mangia!
