New Zealand Kumara and Bacon Salad
Roasted kumara and crisp bacon folded through a curried sour cream dressing with red onion, capsicum and pine nuts. The New Zealand barbecue salad that always empties first.
Servings 6 servings
Ingredients
Salad
- 2 ½ pounds kumara or orange sweet potato peeled, cut into ¾ inch dice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt for roasting
- 8 ounces streaky bacon diced
- 1 small red onion finely diced
- 1 red capsicum (red bell pepper) diced
- ⅓ cup pine nuts toasted
- ⅓ cup coriander (cilantro) leaves roughly chopped, or flat leaf parsley
Curried Dressing
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons mild curry powder
- 1 teaspoon honey use ½ teaspoon with sweeter American sweet potato
- 1 pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Roast and Cook
- Heat the oven to 425F. Toss the diced kumara with the olive oil and salt and spread it in a single layer on a large tray, using two trays if needed.
- Roast 25 to 30 minutes, turning once halfway, until the edges are dark and slightly crisp. Cool completely on the tray.
- Cook the diced bacon in a dry pan over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, until properly crisp. Drain on paper towels.
Dress and Assemble
- Whisk the sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, curry powder, honey and black pepper together. Let the dressing sit 10 minutes so the curry powder hydrates.
- Tip the cooled kumara into a large bowl with the red onion, capsicum and most of the coriander. Add three quarters of the dressing and fold gently with a spatula, adding the rest only if needed.
- Fold in the bacon and pine nuts just before serving, scatter the remaining coriander over the top, and serve at room temperature or cold.
Notes
- Cool the kumara first: warm kumara absorbs the dressing and goes pasty. This is the most common mistake.
- Kumara vs US sweet potato: golden kumara is drier and less sweet. With American orange sweet potato, roast at 425F and cut the honey to ½ teaspoon.
- Single layer on the tray: a crowded tray steams instead of roasting.
- Curry powder: mild yellow curry powder, and let the dressing rest 10 minutes so it stops tasting dusty.
- Bacon last: fold it in right before serving so it stays crisp.
- Make ahead: kumara 2 days, dressing 3 days, bacon 1 day. Combine on arrival.
- Storage: fridge up to 3 days once dressed. Do not freeze, the dressing splits.