Two Sweet Potato and Bacon Salad with Sherry Coriander Vinaigrette
I am in a salad kind of mood these days. It must be the spring, which is still fighting to deserve its name, having just lived through a weekend of cold temperatures, wind and rain. I know it’s there, around the corner, and the anticipation of the opening of the outdoor farmers market on Barr Street in Fort Wayne keeps me hopeful.
This past weekend, as I was saying, was a shocker. Friday, when we finally celebrated David’s 10th birthday with his friends, was a sunny, warm day, and nothing gave you any hint that the two days to follow, full of soccer and outdoor activities that included a cookout, would make you bring back winter coats, rain boots, hats, gloves and scarfs. I’m not exaggerating! I was too cold to even pull my hands out of my pockets and take a photo to prove it —you’ll have to take my word for it.
Salad and low temperatures, almost the perfect combination for the dish I’m sharing today, two sweet potato and bacon salad with sherry coriander vinaigrette, is hearty enough for lunch, and perfect to accompany any meat or fish for dinner. One of my favorite salads, we had it for dinner accompanying lomo al horno a la cordobesa, pork tenderloin in the style of Córdoba (find the recipe here), and having the leftovers the next day for lunch. In fact, I’m torn between classifying this dish as a salad or as a vegetable. Since it reminds me of ensalada andaluza, Andalusian salad, which my mom makes often in the summer, I would call it a salad, but you could just as well call it a vegetable dish.
No matter what you call it, once you try it, it might become one of your favorites —salad or vegetable dish.
TWO SWEET POTATO AND BACON SALAD WITH SHERRY CORIANDER VINAIGRETTE
Ensalada de boniatos y panceta con vinagreta de jerez
Ingredients:
2 large orange sweet potatoes
1 large white sweet potato
1 yellow bell pepper
4 strips of bacon
1 Tbs sunflower seeds
For the vinaigrette
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 Tbs sherry vinegar
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 medium shallot
2 garlic cloves
3 sprigs cilantro
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
Peel the sweet potatoes and dice them into 1-inch cubes. Toss them with 1 Tbs olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Line an oven tray or cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread the sweet potato cubes in an even layer. Roast for about 20 minutes.
Slice the yellow pepper into thin strips, about 1/4 inch thick and 1 to 1 1/2 inches long. Sauté them with 1 Tbs olive oil, over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
Grill or bake the bacon. I grilled it on a stove top grill pan, about 5 minutes per side, until crispy, but you could bake it in the oven as well: for this, line an oven tray with parchment paper and set a wire rack on top. Lay the strips of bacon on the wire rack and bake for about 20 minutes at 400ºF, until crispy. It is better to start with a cold oven, so if you decide to make the bacon this way, for practical purposes, place it in the oven first, and when the oven reaches 400ºF, place the sweet potatoes. When you remove the bacon from the oven, increase the temperature to 425ºF until the sweet potatoes are done.
Cut the bacon transversally into 1/2 inch pieces. Set aside.
Make the vinaigrette
Toast the ground coriander in a small skillet for about 2 minutes. Finely mince the shallot, the cilantro and the garlic cloves. In a small bowl, mix the coriander, shallot, garlic, cilantro and sherry vinegar. Slowly drizzle the remaining extra virgin olive oil, stirring until well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Place the roasted sweet potatoes in a serving bowl and scatter the pepper and bacon pieces evenly over them. With a small spoon, drizzle as much of the vinaigrette as you like (I like to reserve some, to add to any leftovers). Sprinkle with the sunflower seeds and serve.
