Mexican Sweet Potato and Black Bean Salad

I had planned to post a recipe for lamb this week. Then I discovered that this week is National Vegetarian Week so I decided to go with this Mexican Sweet Potato and Black Bean Salad instead.

I’m a sweet potato sceptic. There, I’ve said it and it feels good to get it off my chest. I know I’m pretty much alone in feeling this way. Don’t get me wrong, I know that they are a much healthier alternative to regular potatoes but I’m just not a fan. I’ve yet to find healthy sweet potato fries that satisfy me. I’d prefer just to go for regular chips or have a salad.

However, when chopped up and roasted with a load of chilli and herbs, I’m quite happy to eat them. I’m still not a huge fan of the texture but I can cope with it. When I’m pushed for time at lunch I have a soft spot for an M&S Sweet Potato and Three Bean wrap. It’s relatively healthy and I don’t feel too guilty buying it. But as I am trying to bring lunch to work with me more often, I decided to make my own version.

So this post for Mexican Sweet Potato and Black Bean Salad is hardly a recipe. The only cooking is in the sweet potatoes and the rest of it is just an assembly job. Which makes it an ideal midweek meal and you can use the leftovers for lunch. It is also delicious all mixed together and served in a wrap.

The lamb will just have to wait!

 

Useful tips & links:

• The seasoning on the sweet potatoes makes them quite spicy but when eaten with all the other elements the spice mellows so it needs that punch.
• To make this even simpler, if you don’t want to make the guacamole or pico de gallo, just slice some avocado and chop tomatoes and drizzle over some lime juice.
• If you have leftover beans or sweetcorn, they freeze well or have a look at my Easy Mexican Chicken Wraps to use them up.
• This is an ideal vegetarian dish but if you want to add some meat, this Smoked Paprika Chicken would work well.
• If you need more convincing – like I do – about the virtues of sweet potato fries, these Parmesan Sweet Potato Fries from Nicola at Simply Homemade should do the trick!

 

 

 

 

Mexican Sweet Potato and Black Bean Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 Sweet Potatoes, weighing approx 500g, peeled and cubed
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of chipotle chilli flakes, or use regular red chilli flakes with a pinch of smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon of dried oregano
• Salt and pepper
• 1 x 400g tin of black beans
• 1 x 198g tin of sweetcorn

To serve:

• Fresh coriander leaves, sour cream, cheddar cheese, guacamole, pico de gallo

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 190c/170c fan/gas mark 5. Toss the sweet potatoes in the olive oil, chilli flakes, oregano and some salt and pepper. Spread them out on a flat layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast in the oven for 30-35 minutes. They are done when the potatoes are tender and can be easily pierced with a knife. Turn them half way through the cooking time.
• While the potatoes are cooking, make the pico de gallo to allow time for it to stand. Rinse and drain the beans and sweetcorn well and make the guacamole.
• When the potatoes are cooked, simply pile everything on to plates or serve in little dishes and allow everyone to help themselves!