Richard's sweet potato and caramelized onion salad

New Life Journal, Oct-Nov, 2004

This recipe is one that almost didn't happen. Richard, our lead cook, thought he'd burned the sweet potatoes one day. He was headed for the trash with the tray of singed slices when he decided to just taste one. Finding them interesting and sweetly intriguing he decided that instead of tossing them out he'd try adding a bit of this and that. A classic was born! This delicious salad won first prize by the members of The Southern Foodways Alliance, garnering the Lodge Cast Iron Skillet award.

This is a great and unusually delicious salad that features North Carolina Sweet Potatoes. (Did you know that North Carolina supplies forty percent of the sweet potatoes consumed in the entire United States?) It works best when cooked in a convection oven, but it can be made in a conventional oven or, as you see, on the stove top. Here's the recipe for 4 servings. Feel free to multiply!

Sweet Potato Salad

Ingredients:

2 Sweet Potatoes
1 medium sized Bermuda Onion
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Granulated garlic to taste
2 Tbsps of olive oil
1 Tbsp of honey
1 Tbsp of lemon juice

Peel the Sweet Potatoes, quarter and then cut into 1/4" slices. Toss in olive oil to coat and season to taste with kosher salt, ground pepper, and granulated garlic. Peel and slice the Bermuda onions into wedges. Toss in with sweet potatoes. At this point, you can spread the whole mixture on a baking sheet and roast on high (375 or 400) degree temperature in a convection oven until the potatoes are beginning to burn along the edges. Transfer hot potatoes to a large bowl and toss with lemon juice, sourwood honey, and chopped parsley. Allow to cool, and serve!

If you are using a conventional, oven you may not get-the crispness that comes with a convection oven, but the result will certainly be edible. And if you are using a stovetop method in a cast iron skillet, simply toss potatoes and onions in well-oiled skillet until the potatoes are done and starting to crisp up, as you would with home fries. The time in this method will depend on the heat of the burner, the thickness of the potatoes, and other highly variable factors. This salad is terrific as an accompaniment to fried chicken; ribs, and any picnic fare. It will last a day or so, but not much longer than that!

Laurey's Catering has been operating in Asheville since 1987. Owned by Laurey Masterton, who grew up at Blueberry Hill Farm in Vermont, Laurey's is proud to serve locally-grown produce as much as possible and to have well-established relationship with many local farmers and producers. Come for lunch or have us cater your meeting or special event: 828-252-1500, info@laureysyum.com