A real picnic

Photo by me

I made this recipe a while back as a contribution to One Green Planet, but it was too pretty not to share with you all. I wanted to make a colourful potato salad that seemed both classic and innovative. I used multi-coloured sweet potatoes from our local farmer's market and added sweet corn, bell peppers, onions, jalapeno and cilantro. This pretty little dish has both a spicy bite from a touch of cayenne and a burst of freshness from its simple lime dressing. Summer picnic food at its best!

Spicy sweet potato salad (Serves 6-8 as a side dish)

Salad ingredients:

• 1 lb. sweet potatoes (multicolored if available), peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
• 1 tsp. cumin
• ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cups cooked corn (fresh or frozen)
• 4 scallions, trimmed and sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• ½ jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• ¼ cup cilantro, chopped for garnish
• Dressing Ingredients
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the sweet potatoes in the vegetable oil, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper. Bake on an aluminum foil-lined sheet for 20-25 minutes, turning once. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add the cooked corn, scallions, bell pepper and jalapeno and toss to combine.

To prepare the simple citrus dressing, simply whisk together of all the ingredients.

Add the potatoes and dressing to the bowl and toss everything together. Garnish with fresh cilantro and enjoy!