Sweet potato and lentil salad Recipe on Food52

Author Notes: I love a potato salad, but all that mayonnaise is heavy and claggy and I'm totally over it actually. This is a great side at any barbecue or dinner party... but I eat it on it's on for dinner sometimes, just because!

Leftovers keep well for a few days, but I often use them in lunch-size quiches for work, on the rare chance there's a scrap or two left behind.

The original recipe is from a now-defunct Australian food publication (Masterchef Magazine), however I've played with it over several years to make it more budget and one-stop-shop friendly. —Georgia Leaker

Serves: 6-8 sides

Ingredients

2-3 long sweet potatoes, sliced
1 tablespoon each of ground cumin and smoked paprika
1/3 cup olive oil + 1 tablespoon spare
1 can of brown (French) lentils, drained and rinsed
Juice of one lemon
1 clove of garlic, chopped finely
1 punnet of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
3/4 cup feta, crumbled
1 bunch parsley leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 cup slivered almonds or pinenuts, toasted

Directions

Preheat your oven to 410 F (210 C) and line two baking trays with waxed baking paper
Toss the sweet potato in 1 tablespoon of oil and the spices, season with salt and pepper and lay out in a single layer across the two baking trays and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden and slightly crisped
Optional: If your cherry tomatoes aren't great and you're using cheap feta, bake these as well, for 10 minutes at the end
In your serving bowl/bowls, add the 1/3 cup olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, lentils, parsley and nuts (Note: I prefer to spread these across two bowls)
To serve, add your baked sweet potato, cherry tomatoes, feta and croutons and toss