Radicchio and Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

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Season: Winter
Dosha: Pitta, Vata

Recipe Notes

This hearty salad is completely a stunner, with all of the purples and oranges tossed together. You can absolutely omit the pork or sausage if that’s not your jam, and insert tempeh, chicken, or chickpeas if you wish.

This is one of my favorite ways to salad in the winter (the recipe is in the caption of this video!) This is more of a loose blueprints than it is a formula to follow to a tee. A few tips for navigating with success:

  • Choose your own proteins:  Maybe you don’t eat meat, or dislike the protein that I’ve chosen in one of these salads – feel free to swap in YOUR favorite.
  • Vegan: omit cheese or dairy if you wish
  • Good fats: I love to use ghee in many of my recipes because its just so darned good for you! But if you don’t have any on hand, or prefer to use something else, olive oil makes a decent substitution.
  • Grains: if you’re unable to eat gluten, or have a different grain on hand than the one I’ve included, feel free to make a smart swap.
  • No Allepo pepper? Use 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes instead.
  • No sherry wine vinegar? Its perfectly acceptable to use red wine vinegar in its stead.
  • The only rule to follow is COOK ALL THOSE VEGGIES!

Flavor Notes

Flavors are FUN, yes, but they also are the mechanisms by which our bodies nourish themselves. Flavors basically tell our bodies what the food is giving us – on a nutritional and energetic level. Our bodies then prepare enzymes to break those components down, assimilate them, and turn them into fuel for our vibrant lives. We can’t eat just one flavor and get all of the things we need, so learning to track the flavors in our foods helps us to be sure that we’re really getting all of the things we need in our meals. This particular recipe has five of six flavors, one of the reasons it’s so darn good for all the things. The more flavors we can enjoy in any meal or food, the happier and more balanced our bodies will be.

  • SWEET: sweet potatoes, sausage, pomegranate
  • SALTY: sea salt
  • SOUR: orange, pomegranate
  • BITTER: radicchio, winter greens
  • ASTRINGENT: N/A
  • PUNGENT: aleppo pepper

Radicchio and Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

makes 4 servings

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Active Time: 45 minutes

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Serves: salads

Ingredients

for the potatoes:

  • 2 large sweet potatoes (preferably garnet, scrubbed)
  • 1 large clove garlic (finely grated)
  • 2 Tbsp plus 1/2 tsp melted ghee
  • Kosher salt (to taste)
  • 1/4 cup pecans (chopped)

for the base (greens):

  • 1 head Treviso radicchio (leaves separated + torn into pieces)
  • 1 bunch lacinato kale (destemmed + chopped)

for the sausage:

  • 2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp ghee
  • 8 oz Merguez sausage (casings removed)
  • 1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
  • 2 Tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 1 tsp sherry wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup water

for the dressing:

  • 1/3 cup plain sheep's milk OR Greek yogurt
  • 1 small orange (juiced)
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
  • Kosher salt (to taste)
  • black pepper (to taste)

Instructions

  • 1Prepare equipment

    Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and set aside.

     

  • 2Cook sweet potatoes

    Quarter the sweet potatoes and then slice the quarters into long wedges. Mix garlic and 2 Tbsp ghee in a medium bowl. Toss the sweet potatoes in the ghee, season with salt and transfer to the sheet pan. Roast, turning once, until flesh is soft and yielding, 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven.

  • 3Toast the nuts

    Toss pecans with remaining ½ tsp oil, season with salt and transfer to a large deep skillet to toast. Toast until slightly darkened and fragrant, 3-4 minutes. Transfer the toasted nuts to a small bowl and set aside.

  • 4Prepare the salad

    Place radicchio and chopped kale in a large bowl.  Heat 2 Tbsp ghee in reserved skillet over medium-high. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in Aleppo pepper. Transfer meat to a plate with a slotted spoon and pour off all but 2 Tbsp fat from skillet.

    Reduce heat to medium. Combine pomegranate molasses, vinegar, and ¼ cup water in skillet, stirring to combine and scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, until sauce is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes, then drizzle over radicchio and kale. Massage with hands briefly to coat, then transfer the radicchio and kale back to the skillet and warm over medium heat until the vegetables begin to wilt and break down. Transfer back to the large bowl, add reserved sausage and sweet potatoes, and toss to coat; season with salt.

     

  • 5Make the dressing + serve

    Mix yogurt and the remaining 1 tsp ghee with the orange juice in a small bowl to make pourable; season with salt and freshly cracked pepper. Divide the salad among plates + drizzle with the yogurt, then top with toasted pecans and cilantro.

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