Sweet Potato Salad

 I recently went to my brother's to do some grilling. Well, actually, he does all the grilling. I just do the side dishes. I marinated some veggies and mushrooms in the favorite Shish Kabob Marinade, made a HUGE crock pot of my famous Baked Beans, and of course I brought something sweet too. But the newest addition to the party was this fabulous potato salad. We had discussed the possibility of doing something with sweet potatoes instead of just regular potatoes, and I immediately remembered this Trisha Yearwood recipe that I had been wanting to try. When I first saw it, I thought it seemed fresh and light, and frankly I have yet to meet a sweet potato that I don't like, so I went with it.
 Well, let me just tell you it's EVERYTHING you want it to be and more. It's fresh, it's light, it's flavorful, it's sweet, it's tangy, and it has just the slightest little hit at the end. It's REALLY nice. Even Claire (who isn't a fan of sweet potatoes) loved it. (I know, I know, it makes no sense to me either, but whatever. LOL)
 Anyway, try this for your next BBQ. No, it won't ever replace your favorite potato salad recipe, but every so often, it's nice to mix things up a bit, dontcha think?


4 large sweet potatoes
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup diced scallions (about 6)
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
2 tbs minced fresh chives
2 tsp orange zest
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp hot sauce, such as Tabasco
salt and pepper

Peel and cube the sweet potatoes and put them in a large pot. Cover with water, bring to a boil and boil until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. While the potatoes are cooling, in a medium bowl, mix the mayonnaise, yogurt, scallions, red pepper, chives, orange zest, apple cider vinegar and hot sauce. Add the cooled potatoes to the mixture, and toss until the potatoes are fully coated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Best served chilled.

 

 

Tips:

Even though it says to boil the potatoes, I decided to roast them instead. I didn't want them to become too soft, which would make them fall apart when you mix up the salad. I just peeled and diced them, tossed them with a little vegetable oil, salt, and pepper, then placed them on a sheet pan in a 400 degree oven until they were tender but not mushy. Then I was sure to cool them completely before tossing with the dressing. They didn't get mushy at all! 

If you're not a fan of Greek yogurt, just use sour cream instead!

One of the key flavors is the orange zest. It really perks up the whole dish! Just be careful not to put too much of it. A little goes a long way, in this case. Oh, also, I added a tsp of regular sugar to the dressing, and I added a few extra dashes of hot sauce. Add it to your own taste!