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
23 Comments
Simply because of what I had on hand, I had to tweak a bit and it was delicious! I didn’t have chick peas in, so substituted navy beans. Didn’t have parsley, so used some dried basil. To the dressing I also added about a tsp or less each of curry powder (We love curry!!) & cumin. Lastly, I didn’t have pine nuts, but did have dry sunflower seeds and toasted them, for the crunch. Some would say I completely destroyed your recipe, but cooking to me is all about being adventurous and we thoroughly enjoyed this version.
We have not made this yet, but my question is can I substitute, lets say pistachios for the pine nuts?
Thank You
Hi Jim, I have not tried it, but I think it would pair nicely.
I made this for my supper tonight. The salad was really good and I am sure I will be making it again during sweet potato season. Roasted sweet potato tastes like candy. I served it over a bed of arugula just to get some greens in.
Thank you Gail!
Looks so good. I was wondering about the calorie count in your recipes.
Thanks Barbara! I want to steer the focus on the quality of food rather than calories.
Really loved this recipe. I did roast the chick peas as well, which gave the salad a bit of an added crunch. I also used the zest of one lemon. Will definitely make again!
One of my favourite dishes is roasted, curried cauliflower, carrots, chickpeas and onion. I’d definitely roast the chickpeas if I tried this recipe.
Looks delicious! Do you have the calories per serving?
Elena, this sounds very tasry and I’m looking forward to trying it. I have a question about this and other recipes using lemon or juice, which is, how do I store the rest of the lemon/lime until I’m ready to use it again?
Hi Madeline, I squeeze as much juice as I need from the lemon, and then cover the lemon and store it in the fridge. You can also freeze lemon juice in an ice cube tray and use as needed.
I just ate it and it was delicious!! Easy, flavourful, pine nuts gives great texture and definitely will go into my recipe book. Thanks for sharing.
I really like this recipe, and I like it even more when roasted beets are added also, both for the flavor and the color. And then you get a side dish of beet greens as well.
Very good recipe, I like to try recepies as is the very first time. This one turned out as advertised, delicious, healthy and great as a side or complete meal. The 2nd time I tried this I finished it with a sprinkle of feta. Keep up the great work!!
Thank you George!
Excellent article. I absolutely love this website. Keep it up!
Thank you Joshua
Used this as an inspiration for lunches this week but used butternut squash and added some sautéed kale. Topped it all off with some local sharp cheddar cheese! Delicious! Thanks!
Thanks for sharing Brianna!
This seems like it would be really healthy to eat.
This looks delicious and I will definitely give it a try – my family loves sweet potatoes, and I know this will be a winner!
Thanks Marilena!