Sweet Potato Salad with Green Olives (Slada Batata Hilwa)

What a week! What a month to be more specific. For most people, January is a month of loafing after the (preferably) long and lazy December holidays. But if you're an accountant at a company who decided (WHY??) to have a December year end, then January is going to be a rough month for you. Especially if you have auditors descending on you within 2 weeks of your return from holiday. Oy vey. But, *wipe sweat off my forehead*, luckily, it's all over now. Now I can breath again. And catch up with my google reader subscriptions (I confess, I'm a greedy greedy reader). And cook. And of course, blog!




This has got to be one of the best ways to eat sweet potatoes. The perfect balance between sweet, spicy and salty, I suspect even my mom (a self-confessed sweet-vegetable- hater) would be convinced after just one whiff of the delicious aroma. The flavours are very reminiscent of the same author's Orange, Olive & Red Onion Salad, which as you know, is a top contender for my favourite salad of all time. This comes a very close second. *Sigh* I think I should've been born in Morocco...

I'm submitting this to Regional Recipes (February's theme is the Middle East), hosted by Joanne of Eats Well With Others and created by Darlene from Blazing Hot Wok.

Sweet Potato Salad with Green Olives
(Slada Batata Hilwa) 

Adapted from Arabesque (Claudia Roden)

Serves 4 (as side-dish)

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1/2 tbsp olive oil

3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled & cubed

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp cumin seeds, ground

1/2 tsp paprika

salt to taste

1 tbsp lemon juice

6 green olives, pitted and quartered

a few sprigs of flat-leaf parsley

1. Gently saute onion in olive oil until soft and glassy. 

2. Add sweet potatoes and spices, stirfry for a few minutes, then add water, enough to just cover the sweet potatoes. Cover and simmer over medium low heat until potatoes are fully cooked and fragrant. 

3. Season to taste with salt, add lemon juice and stir olives through. Sprinkle with parsley and serve while still hot.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 110.9, Total fat 2.4 g, Saturated fat 0.3 g, Polyunsaturated fat 0.3 g, Monounsaturated fat 1.3 g, Cholesterol 0.0 mg, Sodium 38.3 mg, Potassium 456.8 mg, Total carbohydrate 20.7 g, Dietary fiber 3.8 g, Sugars 7.4 g, Protein 2.1 g

Good source of: Vitamin A 106.2 %, Manganese 25.0 %, Vitamin C 25.8 %, Vitamin B6 18.0 %