Wednesday, December 21, 2011

TwoFaced Wednesday: Sweet Potato Salad

I've already told Jenna this, but today's TwoFaced is probably my favorite recipe to date. And it all started with near-rotting tubers.

You see, last week, I bought three large sweet potatoes for literally no reason. Usually when I go grocery shopping, I try to plan out what I'll be making and build a list based on a predetermined set of meals, otherwise I'd end up bringing home things like edible flowers and multiple cartons of Coconut Milk Egg Nog, basically stuff I don't really know how to justify spending my money on. I had no plans to make anything with sweet potato, but they were singing their siren song to me, like a trampy little harlot asking passers-by if they were "lookin' for a good time." I'm talking about prostitutes, by the way. 
Slutty sweet potatoes

So as I mentioned, I had no reason to buy sweet potatoes, but I figured I could mash them or make them into fries at the very least, but a week had passed and still, I had nary given them a second glance, until I remembered an Asian-style sweet potato salad Kyle's mom makes. It's sweet, spicy, tangy, and entirely addicting. If I remember correctly, her version included peanut butter and possibly some brown sugar. I was able to make a couple easy swaps, and one surprising swap for soy sauce, making this sweet potato salad paleo and delicious!  

Most recipes call for soy sauce, but I nearly opted to leave it out (soy ain't paleo, ya know?), until I spotted this miracle of miracles.
Yeah, in case coconut crystals and coconut nectar weren't cray cray enough, Coconut Secret goes and blows your mind all over again with a soy-free soy sauce (made with coconut nectar and salt). It's not as salty as the real stuff, but it makes for an incredible substitute (even if it does punch you right in the ovaries at $5 a bottle) in any recipe calling for soy sauce.

I'm gonna just stuff my face with some of this while you go
check out The Paleo Project's take on the sweet potato!

Sweet Potato Salad
Makes a lot

  • 2-3 large sweet potatoes
  • 3 Tbsp. almond butter
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup Raw Coconut Aminos (soy sauce replacement)
  • 4 teaspoons toasted sesame seed oil
  • 3 teaspoons minced peeled ginger
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp. maple syrup
Garnish
  • 2 Tbsp. roasted, unsalted almonds, chopped
  • bunch of green onion, sliced thinly
  1. Peel and chop sweet potatoes into bite-sized chunks. Add potatoes to a pot and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil until sweet potatoes are fork tender (about 5 minutes). Strain potatoes.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk all the other ingredients together. Add potatoes, green onions, and almonds. Toss to coat. Taste it at this point, and then add salt and pepper if needed.
  3. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

3 comments:

Jenna | The Eighty Twenty said...

Sorry readers, you can thank me for the delay on TwoFaced Tuesday!!! But Melissa this recipe sounds so delicious! I tried to make something with coconut aminos a few weeks ago and I couldn't find it at any grocery stores near home. But I'm going to hunt it down soon and make something. P.s. did your concierge find it!?!?

whitney said...

i wish i could come up with some sweet recipes but i don't have anything in my kitchen. usually making something i've never done before requires $50 worth of just stuff to keep in the pantry 'for next time'

so i am coming over to your house to cook.

Jamie said...

Um... where do you grocery shop where you can find coconut soy sauce substitute?! I ask because I live in LA and should be able to find a place around here that sells it (maybe Whole Foods........).

P.S. Love the "Anchorman" reference.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...