“Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Spinach, Pomegranate and Pumpkin Seeds” is my favorite salad when it comes to clean eating. Festive, healthy, scrumptious and makes a great addition to your holiday table – an explosion of sweet and tangy deliciousness!

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Spinach, Pomegranate and Pumpkin Seeds

Fall means sweet potatoes and clean eating means putting whole and plant foods in your meals, and the “Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Spinach, Pomegranate and Pumpkin Seeds” is wholesome, healthy, colorful and insanely delicious. Fresh baby spinach, roasted sweet potatoes, pomegranate seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds and sunflower seeds with a bright sweet and tangy vinaigrette that brings out the flavor in this salad!

Don’t you sometimes wish that you could learn the secret behind a salad dressing you had at a restaurant? I have got a variety of restaurant-style salads in my repertoire that I have developed and perfected over years; some are published in my cookbook, others are on the blog and a few recipes are documented in posts, maybe one day I will have my own restaurant; one of the signature dishes that would be on the menu is the dressing in this salad!!There is a secret technique behind the bright variety of flavors in it!! Guess what? It is the white balsamic reduction that will have the ability to elevate the dressing over the top.  It is darn easy to make it and once you introduce it in your cooking repertoire, you will know what I mean!

Empty the white balsamic vinegar bottle into a saucepan and bring it to a boil, reduce heat to medium and let the vinegar simmer until reduced to 3/4 cup – it should have the consistency of thick maple syrup. The reduction can be made 1 or 2 weeks ahead and stored in a glass bottle in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the salad! It is a good habit to take action and make some planning in advance.

To roast the sweet potatoes: peel the sweet potatoes and try to cut them into equal sized cubes. Place them in an oven sheet, in a single layer.  Toss with sea salt, black pepper and olive oil, roast them in an oven preheated to, 200 °C/400°F, about 20 minutes or until fork tender.

To make the honey roasted pumpkin seed mix, preheat the oven to 160°C / 325°F, combine together the honey, olive oil and sea salt; add the pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and chia seeds. Stir well until all the seeds are well coated with the honey-oil mixture.  Transfer to an oven sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake about 15 minutes, making sure to a stir every now and then.  Remove from the oven and set aside to completely cool down. The crunchy sweet and salty combo will take the salad to the next level.

Make the dressing: in a small jar, combine 3 tablespoons of the white balsamic vinegar reduction, honey, olive oil, sea salt and freshly grated black pepper.  Close tightly with the lid and shake well to combine. The acidic sweetness in the dressing pairs well with salads that contain fruits or sweet potatoes – you will never reach the bottled store bought dressings anymore.

To put the salad together: assemble the baby spinach around a large serving shallow bowl, arrange the roasted sweet potatoes in the middle and toss the pomegranate seeds around the sweet potatoes, scatter the honey roasted pumpkin seeds around the pomegranate seeds. Add the crumbled Feta cheese on top, and for a vegan and paleo salad, leave the cheese out! It would still taste great!! Dress your salad as close to serving as possible, to keep it neat and tidy!

Other Variations:

• Arugula and kale make a lovely replacement for baby spinach.
• Swap goat cheese for feta, or simply leave it vegan and paleo.
• Roasted pumpkin cubes make as well a lovely alternative to sweet potatoes.

“Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Spinach, Pomegranate and Pumpkin Seeds” makes a dramatic Christmas or New Year salad treat! It is wholesome, healthy, colorful and insanely delicious!!

Reader Praise: "Pre-pandemic this was the salad that I shared with others–always to great raves. I have made it for myself during this COVID-19 time of social isolation. It lifts my spirits and I know that when we can again come together to break bread it will be my offering to others. Thank you for this recipe and others."Ruth Kouri

Ingredients:

• 900 g. / 2 lbs.  sweet potatoes
• 200 g. / 7 oz. baby spinach leaves
• 1 medium sized pomegranate, deseeded
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, to roast the sweet potatoes
• A pinch of sea salt, for the roast the sweet potatoes
• A pinch of freshly grated black pepper
• 150 g. / 5 oz. crumbled feta cheese, optional

For the honey-roast pumpkin seed mix

• ½ cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 11/2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, to roast the seeds
• A pinch of sea salt

Dressing

• 1 (500 ml) whole bottle white balsamic vinegar, to be reduced to 1/3 cup on the stovetop, can be made days ahead and kept in the refrigerator
• 4 tablespoons honey
• ½ cup good quality olive oil
• A pinch of sea salt
• A pinch of freshly grated black pepper

Directions:

1. First off, start making the white balsamic vinegar reduction: empty the white balsamic vinegar in a saucepan, reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer, uncovered, until reduced to 3/4 cup, keep  an eye on the vinegar while simmering; the end result should have the consistency of thick maple syrup.  Set aside to completely cool down. Can be made a couple of days before and kept in the refrigerator in a glass jar.
2. To roast the sweet potatoes: peel the sweet potatoes and cut them to 2.5 cm/ 1 inch cubes.  Place them in an oven sheet, in a single layer.  Toss them with salt, black pepper and olive oil.  Roast in an oven, preheated to 200°C/400°F, about 20 minutes or until fork tender, make sure to give them a quick stir every 5 minutes.  Remove from the oven and set aside to completely cool down.
3. To make the honey roasted pumpkin seed mix: preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F.  Combine the honey, sea salt and olive oil in a medium bowl.  Add the pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and chia seeds, stir well until all the seeds are well coated with the honey-oil mixture.  Transfer to an oven sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake about 15 minutes, making sure to stir every now and then.  Remove from the oven and set aside to completely cool down.
4. To make the dressing: In a small jar, combine 3 tablespoons of the white balsamic reduction you prepared, with honey, olive oil, sea salt and black pepper.  Close tightly with the lid, and shake well to combine.  Keep the rest of the white balsamic reduction in a small glass bottle for further use.
5. To assemble the salad: put the baby spinach around a large shallow bowl, arrange the roasted sweet potatoes in the middle and toss the pomegranate seeds around the sweet potatoes, scatter the honey pumpkin roasted seeds around the pomegranate seeds.  Add the crumbled feta cheese on top, or leave it out for a vegan and paleo option.  Before serving, shake the dressing one more time and drizzle evenly over the salad. Sahtain!!

If you make this recipe, share your pictures on Facebook! Hashtag, #Hadia’s lebanese Cuisine