Mystery Ingredient Monday: Fun with MUSTARD!

This week I made my tried and true Sweet Potato Salad from my tried and true The Quick Recipe cookbook from the America's Test Kitchen people.

Normally, the sweet potatoes get cut up into 1/2 inch chunks tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roasted in the oven at a high heat.

It was too darn hot for that!

Name that musical.

So, I researched some online versions of grilled sweet potatoes.  Most online experts say to cut the potatoes in either thick slices or wedges.  I went with wedges.

Some recipes say to boil the potatoes for a time before grilling.  Our temps were in the mid-90s this week, and we do NOT have central air conditioning.  (I am NOT complaining.  I love the heat.  I refuse to put a window unit in my bedroom because I feel claustrophobic if I can't sleep with the windows open at night.  Most nights, the air cools off enough to be quite pleasant.  Sitting by open windows in the morning as I type this.) I went with the no boil method.

In hind sight, the potatoes took forever to cook and were still a teensy bit underdone, so if I went the grilling route again, I'd definitely boil them or microwave them first.

Grilled Sweet Potato Salad (adapted from the Roasted Sweet Potato Salad recipe in The Quick Recipe cookbook)

serves 4 which means I double it.  I double everything, everyday.  Double the pleasure, double the fun.

• 2 large sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds) scrubbed, quartered lengthwise, but my quarters are always too thick, so I slice mine into eighths, which is like the opposite of doubling.
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• salt and ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, see how I highlighted this with a Dijon color?  Fun with Mustard!
• 2 medium scallions, white and green parts, sliced thin
• 5 ounces jarred roasted red peppers, drained, dried, and cut into 1/4 inch pieces (aobut 1/2 cup

In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with the oil, a 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; set aside.

Grill the potato wedges until tender over medium heat or coals or whatever.  I didn't exactly do this part.  It took a long time, like 10-15 minutes per side.  By tender, I mean you can stab the thickest part of the wedge with a fork or a paring knife very easily, with no crunchy resistance.  Overdone sweet potato is better than underdone sweet potato

When the potatoes are done, set them aside to cool slightly.  Then chop the wedges into 1/2 inch thick pieces.

Transfer the potatoes to a bowl and toss with the Dijon, scallions, and roasted red peppers.  Season the potatoes with salt and pepper to taste. If the salad seems dry, whisk 2 tablespoons of oil with another teaspoon or two of Dijon to freshen it up.  Grilling the sweet potatoes seems to burn off a lot of the oil.

Serve immediately.

Don't forget to visit Tasha to find out next week's ingredient and visit Anne and the other linker-uppers for more Mustard Fun!



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