Roasted Sweet Potato with Tabbouleh
Mediterranean food (despite me never being able to spell mediterranean) has got to be my favourite type of cuisine. I realise that this is quite a generalised statement as it includes cuisine from a lot of different countries, but I love the emphasis on grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes found in many dishes. The fresh herbs, lemon and spices just add to the perfection. That being said I am a big fan of the amount of seafood as well. This recipe is influenced by tabbouleh. I added more grain to boost the carb intake and to make it a more substantial side dish. I hope you enjoy and give the recipe a try! The tabbouleh can be made ahead of time, but if you are planning to store it for a few hours in the fridge I would suggest leaving the herbs on top or separate until you plan on eating.
Serves 2 / Approximate cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes
2 servings of pre-cooked and cooled couscous (contains gluten) or quinoa (gluten free) (about 100g per person)
a generous drizzle of flavourless oil
2 tomatoes de-seeded and finely chopped
a large handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
a large handful of fresh mint, finely chopped
half a cucumber, deseeded and finely chopped
2-3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon
salt and pepper
Preparation
- Chop your sweet potato into bitesized pieces. Place them into a large bowl.
- Drizzle over your oil, season generously with salt and pepper. You can add chilli flakes too for some heat.
- Cook the potatoes on a medium heat for 15-20 minutes in a skillet or frying pan until golden brown (see picture).
- Combine the cooled couscous or quinoa with the fresh herbs, cucumber and tomato.
- Add 2-3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Squeeze the juice of the lemon on top.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve the tabbouleh with your sweet potato and a dip. I used greek yoghurt but hummus would be perfect too for a vegan option.
