Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Tahini Dressing
Deeply roasted sweet potato cubes cooled to room temperature, folded with spinach and parsley and finished with a pale ivory lemon tahini drizzle, toasted pumpkin seeds and sumac. Make it a day ahead.
Servings 4 servings
Ingredients
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes peeled and cut into ¾ inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Tahini Dressing
- ⅓ cup tahini well stirred
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 to 6 tablespoons ice cold water added gradually
To Finish
- 2 cups baby spinach or arugula
- ½ cup flat leaf parsley leaves roughly chopped
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds toasted
- ¼ small red onion finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon sumac
Instructions
Roast the Sweet Potatoes
- Heat the oven to 425F. Toss the sweet potato cubes with the olive oil, smoked paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper until every face is coated.
- Spread the cubes on a rimmed sheet pan in a single layer with space between them, using two pans if needed. Roast 20 minutes.
- Turn the cubes with a spatula, spread them out again, and roast 15 to 20 minutes more, until the corners are deeply browned and a fork goes in easily while the cubes keep their square edges.
- Spread the cubes out and cool them completely, about 30 minutes at room temperature or 15 in the fridge. Do not dress them warm.
Make the Tahini Dressing
- Whisk the tahini, lemon juice, maple syrup, garlic powder, and salt together in a small bowl. The mixture will seize into a stiff grey paste. This is normal.
- Add the ice cold water one tablespoon at a time, whisking hard after each addition, until the dressing loosens to a pale ivory cream that ribbons off the whisk like thin honey.
Assemble
- Put the cooled sweet potato in a wide serving bowl with the spinach, most of the parsley, and the red onion. Fold two or three turns to distribute the greens.
- Spoon the tahini dressing over the top in wide ribbons rather than tossing it through, so the pale drizzle stays visible against the orange.
- Finish with the toasted pumpkin seeds, the remaining parsley, and the sumac dusted over everything. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Notes
- Seized tahini is not ruined: tahini and lemon always clump on contact. Ice cold water, one tablespoon at a time, brings it back to a pourable ivory cream.
- Cool the cubes: warm sweet potato thins the dressing out and it slides off into a pool at the bottom of the bowl.
- Do not crowd the pan: cubes touching each other steam instead of caramelizing.
- Storage: dressing 5 days, roasted potatoes 4 days, assembled salad best within 2 days. Do not freeze.
- Loosen chilled dressing with a splash of water and a quick whisk.