I’m sorry for the long absence folks, but after feeling utterly burnt out for awhile with work and family stuff, I decided to take the weekend off and go to one of Victoria’s most beautiful destinations, a little coastal town called Apollo Bay 
However, even that didn’t seem like a total holiday as I was only down for the weekend, so up at dawn and frantically running about taking as many photos as possible, as well as cooking up quick and healthy meals that would sustain my friend and myself so we didn’t have to leave the cosy little cottage we had rented.
Having gotten back, it’s taken awhile to work up the enthusiasm to blog (or do anything again), but hopefully today’s recipe will make you think it’s been worth the wait
This is one of my absolute favourite salads, and can you see why? Vegetarian-friendly, it is healthy and light, yet quite filling, and so amazingly filled with texture and flavour that it makes a wonderful lunch or light dinner.
Since it requires sweet potatoes and tomatoes to be roasted, it may not be the quickest salad in the world, but if you’re after a wonderful new summer dish to try then this might be it! Oh – and a hint? You can roast the potato and tomato at night and let them cool, and plate up the salad the next day for a super-fast meal. What could be easier?
Baked Sweet Potato & Tomato Salad
(Adapted from ‘The Instant Cook‘ by Donna Hay)
Ingredients (serves 2)
2 medium-sized sweet potatoes (kumara), peeled
3 medium-sized ripe Roma tomatoes
150g baby spinach leaves, thoroughly washed and rinsed
1/2 cup toasted almonds, roughly chopped
60g good quality feta cheese, drained
Olive oil
Sea salt & cracked pepper
Dressing ingredients
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Slice the sweet potatoes lengthwise into wedges, then halve the tomatoes and place on a lined baking tray. Drizzle over a little olive oil, then sprinkle over salt and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes, or till the potato is golden, soft, and can be poked straight through.
2. To make the dressing, whisk together the honey, vinegar and olive oil. Set aside for now. Take two large plates and begin to layer the baby spinach leaves, baked sweet potato wedges and tomato pieces until you have a good amount on each plate.
3. Crumble the feta cheese over the top and sprinkle a liberal amount of chopped almonds over the salad. Use a spoon to sparingly and evenly drizzle the dressing over the top and serve immediately
[tags]sweet potato, kumara, vegetables, salad, vegetarian, lunch, recipe, light, healthy[/tags]
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Mmm… that salad looks amazing! xx
Nice blog and recipes! Sorry to hear about your mishap with that company.
Awesome salad! In American grocery stores the “sweet potatoes” are actually called yams. I took this a step further and added some red onion and avocado slices. For step two I plan on adding a little smoked salmon and a tiny bit of bacon bits.
@Jesska – Thanks sweetie
It tastes pretty good too!
@Desmone007 – Thanks hon
Ah well, life happens – I’m just glad I managed to get it all back!
@evergreen – Thank you. I’m aware of what they’re called in American grocery stores, but I happen to be an Aussie and, as with the rest of the blog, I stick with the measurements and terms that *I’m* familiar with.
Hi Elle, I tried cooking this recipe, and did the sweet potatoes as directed at the right temperature (tried higher temp. also), but my potatoes tend to end up being either too dry or not cooked soft enough? Any advice for that certain problem? Thanks.
HI Carol. I have to admit that I’m not quite sure…too dry sounds like you’re overcooking them. Are you using a fan-forced oven? Perhaps try cutting the sweet potatoes into thicker pieces and see if that helps prevent them from overcooking/drying out? Alternatively, you could try partially cooking them in the microwave or a steamer, then place them into the oven to brown and finish the cooking process! It kind of feels like cheating, but it’s much better than tossing out under/overcooked food!
Just had your salad for supper tonight. Really delish! Thanks.
@Ellie:
I tried the advice that you’ve told me about putting them through the steamer and into the oven again, works great. Thanks again, and my family loves this recipe, especially my mom.
@Nobody’sGirl – I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
@Carol – Hurray! I’m so glad my suggestions worked – thanks for stopping by again and letting me know
Just discovered your website and planning to cook lots of your recipes. This one looks great and look forward to enjoying it. Thanks.
My pleasure! I hope you enjoy it
Love the recipe, I will swap the feta for goats cheese because I am lactose intolerant.
Great photos across all of your blog. I really enjoy reading the recipes.
Lil Miss Stack It recently posted..Butts- Guts and Food Allergies
This would go GREAT with a marinated goat’s cheese feta
I actually prefer it to regular feta in most cases!