Sweet Potato Salad

We usually think of potato salads as summer grilling and picnic food and once the cooler weather sets in, we want them baked or mashed. But the white spud's second cousin once removed (botanically, they're not even related), the sweet potato, makes for fine cool weather fare.

You can heighten their natural sweetness by loading them up with brown sugar and marshmallows at the holidays but that never really appealed to me. I prefer to compliment that sweet taste with some smokey, earthy spices and fresh herbs. I've tried them with smoked paprika and curry powder but my favorite is cumin. It has a deep, smokey flavor that adds warmth without much spicy heat and is a perfect match to sweet potatoes. They can be a little tricky to use in salads because they tend to overcook quickly. But with just a little extra attention, this salad makes an amazing autumn side dish. Enjoy!




Ingredients
1 Large or 2 small sweet potatoes
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise (I used low fat)
1 Tablespoon sour cream (I used low fat)
2 Tablespoons buttermilk
1 Teaspoon mustard
1 Teaspoon cumin
1/2 Teaspoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon chopped scallions or chives
Salt & pepper to taste

Make the dressing by combining the mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, mustard, cumin, garlic powder and scallions in a small bowl.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into bite size pieces. It's important to make the pieces as evenly sized as you reasonably can. Cook them in boiling, salted water until fork tender. They won't hold up to the salad if they're overcooked so start checking them at 5 minutes. When they're done, drain them well and return to the pot.

While the potatoes are still hot, dump the dressing over them and stir only once or twice and very gently. Allow the potatoes to sit and absorb the flavors of the dressing for about 20 minutes. Gently finish folding in the dressing and serve. Makes approximately 2 servings.