Mediterranean Chickpeas with Roasted Sweet Potatoes
With every new season I look forward to the foods and produce that characterize a certain time of the year. And while you can pretty much find most vegetables all year long, I still buy seasonal-they taste better, they are cheaper and honestly it’s something I look forward to. So now it’s sweet potato time, and although it is not native to the Mediterranean, it is now cultivated in certain areas of Greece and we can get them locally.
I have been trying to make sweet potatoes a regular guest at our home. Most popular recipes are sweet, and while I do enjoy a sweet potato casserole with a bit of maple syrup added to it during Thanksgiving, I’m looking to add more savory sweet potato dishes. I’ve roasted them in olive oil, cut them into fries, and used them as a bruschetta topping. Since we eat a lot of salads, I wanted to incorporate them there. I feel the texture once they are roasted would pair well with something somewhat hard like beans rather than leafy greens.
In this recipe I cut them in cubes of about the same size as the chickpeas so you get all the ingredients in one mouthful. Along with the olive oil and lemon dressing and a few toasted pine nuts this was delicious and filling. All the flavors and textures melded perfectly.
Apart from cutting the sweet potatoes this recipe took almost no time or effort and nutritionally this salad has it all: antioxidants, beta-carotene, fiber, protein and good fats and it is vegan-it is a complete meal and travels well, making a great work-lunch.
If you are looking for an easy sweet potato recipe that isn’t really sweet, this one’s for you!
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Mediterranean Chickpea Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup sweet potato chopped in ¼ inch cubes (about 2 sweet potatoes)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 15 ounce can chickpeas
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Coarse salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 400˚ F (200 C).
- Peel the sweet potatoes and cut in small cubes (1/4 inch)
- Place them in bowl in mix them with 2 teaspoons olive oil.
- Roast them for 20 minutes.
- In the meantime make the dressing by mixing the rest of the olive oil (4 teaspoons) with the lemon juice.
- Once sweet potatoes are ready, remove from oven and set aside.
- Toast the pine nuts: place the nuts in a small pan over low heat, shake the pan a few times. Heat for about 1 or 2 minutes.
- In a serving bowl mix gently the chickpeas with sweet potatoes, pine nuts, parsley and the dressing. Sprinkle with salt and pepper before serving.
Photo by Elena Paravantes © All Rights Reserved
I think the quality of the food and the nutrition information are both important. For me, I need the carbs to determine my insulin dosage. But I don’t think it’s a bad idea for people to know the calories, protein, and fat they are eating. Healthy eating is still more important – if you eat 100 calories of marshmallows, that’s less healthy than 200 calories of chickpeas. But it’s still helpful to know the details.
What should the approximate weight of the potatoes for this recipe be? I bought 2 sweet potatoes, but just one cut up was more than a cup and a half (the weight was 350 grams), so I stopped there and it seemed like enough.
The recipe was *very* delicious. I will definitely make it again. I’ll probably use the other sweet potato to make it again next week. 🙂
Instant classic!
CAN I prepare this in advance?
Really delicious. It’s a cold day here so I ate it as a warm salad, roasting the chickpeas with the sweet potatoes. Really nice flavors. We thoroughly enjoyed it.