I ordered some sweet potatoes in my produce basket a little while back and then didn't end up getting around to making whatever it was that I'd wanted them for. So, now I have a bunch of root vegetables sadly staring at me every time I go into the kitchen.

I managed to use up some in the chicken curry the other day. (Which also conveniently used up the chicken breasts I had stashed in the freezer.) But that still left.. four? I think. So, when I needed a vegetable side to go with tonight's dinner, I figured I should aim for something that would use up a few more sweet potatoes -- or... at least one more anyway.

I really liked this salad. The combination of greens, cheese, and nuts was excellent! The honey-glazed sweet potatoes were also nice, but the nuts and cheese were really the main attractions for me. And that was even with my decision to swap out the goat cheese for pressed cottage cheese!¹

Honey-Glazed Sweet Potato & Curried Pecan Salad

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Dressing

• 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2-3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp. honey
• 1/4 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies
• 1/4 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt

Pecans

• 1 tsp. curry powder²
• 1/2 tsp. brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 c. pecan halves

Sweet Potato

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into large dice
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 Tbsp. honey

Salad

• 80-90g baby spinach
• 80-90g arugula
• 185g pressed cottage cheese (or fresh goat cheese)

Directions

1. Combine all dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until mixture looks homogeneous. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a baking sheet with parchement paper.
3. Combine curry powder, brown sugar, and salt in a small bowl.
4. Pour melted butter over pecans and toss to coat.
5. Sprinkle curry powder mixture over pecans and toss to coat.
6. Place in a single layer on the prepared pan and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 10-15 minutes, flipping halfway through.
7. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
8. Toss the sweet potato with the olive oil, salt, and pepper.
9. Place the sweet potato in an ovenproof skillet/pan and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 15-20 minutes.
10. Once the potatoes are fork-tender, carefully remove the pan from the oven and transfer it to the stovetop.
11. Drizzle honey over sweet potatoes and cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes.
12. Toss spinach and arugula with dressing and top with pecans, sweet potato, and cheese.

---

¹ Just trying to be a little more diet/WW-friendly. ^Back
2 The original recipe just called for "curry powder", so I did what I normally do when a recipe calls for commercial curry powder and just tossed in some Madras-style curry powder. This worked fine, but I think that a different spice blend would have been even better. I think balti masala would be my top pick, but sambhar masala and botle masala are also strong contenders. I think a basic bin bhuna hua garam masala would also be really nice. ^Back