Sunday 5 April 2015

Warm Sweet Potato, Mushroom & Spinach Salad

I don't know about you, but I feel like we've got to that awkward time of year where you don't know if it's going to hot or cold. The sky may be clear blue and picturesque, but the temperature is near freezing. We're definitely moving from Winter into Spring which is why I think this warm salad is perfect for the changing seasons. It's warm and comforting which suits the Winter months, but it's also light and healthy which is perfect for those starting to get into the Summer mode! 

I've stolen this recipe from Deliciously Ella. If you haven't heard of her, she's a London-based food blogger who found her passion for healthy, nutritious eating after being diagnosed with Postural Tachycardia Syndrome. By her own admittance, her diet was pretty shocking before her diagnosis. Thanks to an overnight switch to a whole foods, plant-based diet, she was able to control her illness and was able to come off all her medication quicker than any doctor could've predicted. Inspiring stuff!

The ingredients in this salad are clean and simple and provide you with a whole bunch of the good stuff. Spinach, as most know, is packed with iron and the mushrooms give you a boost of Vitamin B6 which is essential for the metabolism of amino acids, lipids and glucose. Even the jalapeño peppers have their benefits as an antioxidant. So, to serve two people, here's how it works...



You Will Need:
-1 large sweet potato
-a dozen chestnut mushrooms
-2 bags babyleaf spinach
-2 jalapeño peppers
-a dozen cherry tomatoes, halved
-apple cider vinegar
-cinnamon
-paprika
-salt
-olive oil









Slice the potatoes into bitesized chunks (skin on), and spread them out on to a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, paprika and cinnamon. You can play with the flavours here. I added much more paprika than cinnamon to give it more of a smokey flavour. Bake for 15-20mins at 190C/gas mark 5 until they're cooked through and soft.





Whilst the potatoes cook, slice the mushrooms and stir-fry them gently with olive oil, salt, two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar and the chopped jalapeño peppers. If you don't want any spice, then remove all the seeds from these. This should take about 7 minutes, at which point, add the spinach and allow it to wilt down for a couple of minutes. Finally, add the halved cherry tomatoes and sweet potatoes, mix together and serve!



The great thing about this recipe is that you can easily increase the volume of ingredients to cater for more people. You can play around with the level of spices to your own taste and you can easily add other flavours. This would be a great addition to any BBQ (although that might be a bit ambitious for April) but can also be made as a main meal, or as an accompaniment to something else. It's so easy and healthy so you've got not excuse not to try it.

Nic
 X





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