Recipe: Potatopia’s Roasted Sweet Potato, Hazelnut and Apple Salad
From Potatopia founder Allen Dikker:
One day I was in the mood for a nice and light, fresh salad for lunch. I had a bunch of hazelnuts on hand, along with some apples and sweet potatoes and thought, why not combine them all?
You’ll see I added my trusty bacon-flavored molasses spice as a seasoning for the potatoes, but if you can’t find the product, you can omit it or try smoked paprika instead. Better yet, add your own bacon bits if you have them on hand.
In the style of a classic Waldorf salad, I made a creamy dressing using Ranch Dip, and kicked things up a notch heat-wise by adding a touch of pepperoncino pepper juice.
Roasted Sweet Potato, Hazelnut and Apple Salad
Courtesy of Potatopia
Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
For the salad:
1 large sweet potato, peeled, cut into 2-inch cubes
3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons bacon flavored molasses dry rub (optional)
Generous pinch kosher salt
3/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, plus more as desired
1 small red apple
1 small cucumber
For the salad dressing:
1/3 cup Ranch Dip (see below)
1 1/2 teaspoons liquid from bottled hot pepperoncino peppers
Instructions:
Heat the oven to 400°F.
Combine sweet potato and oil in a medium bowl. Add dry rub if using and salt, and toss well. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and bake 15 to 18 minutes or until the edges of the potato cubes are golden brown. Transfer to a large bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, toast hazelnuts in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes or until fragrant and beginning to brown. Remove from heat and let cool. Coarsely chop the nuts.
Use a mandolin or sharp knife to thinly slice the cucumber and apple. Add to the bowl with the sweet potatoes. Combine ranch dip and hot pepperoncino liquid, mixing well.
Add to the bowl and toss well. Garnish with hazelnuts.
For the Ranch Dip:
1 cup of Sour cream
1 cup of mayo
2 teaspoons of coarse garlic
2 teaspoons of coarse onion
2 teaspoons of fresh chopped parsley
2 teaspoons of fresh chopped dill
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of white pepper
1 teaspoon of sugar
Place all the ingredients for the ranch dip in a bowl and mix well until all the ingredients are blended together into a dip. Cover and place into the refrigerator
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