This week our sweet little Harry turns one.
I still can’t quite believe we are celebrating his first birthday. It seems like only yesterday I was cradling the sweetest smelling cuddly snuggly newborn baby boy on my chest, beaming with pride wondering what I did to deserve such a divine little fella. And now my bright bubbly blonde boy is racing around the house giving his big sister a run for her money. Time truly does fly.
This weekend we are throwing our big birthday boy a special little party to celebrate. Along with the usual decorations, family and friends there is going to be a lot of delicious (a.k.a sugar laden) food including a Peter Rabbit inspired birthday cake. So with the sugar onslaught set to begin I decided to balance the food scales a little today and put together this super simple everyday salad with hasselback sweet potatoes for supper.
This salad couldn’t be simpler to prepare. Just cover a serving dish in a layer of fresh greens (today I used baby spinach, rocket and mint leaves) and adorn row-by-row with your favourite salad ingredients. After a dig around the refrigerator this afternoon I decided to use capsicum, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, carrot, avocado, corn and some delicious garlic and herb scented feta. The results were a fresh, crunchy, delicious salad full of all of the good stuff.
The hasselback potatoes are an old family favourite of mine. The slits along the sweet potato help the orange hued vege roast to gorgeous golden perfection and add a lovely crunch to each deliciously creamy bite of sweet potato. If you haven’t tried sweet potato like this you must give it a go! The kids love it!
In terms of baby led weaning, this salad and sweet potato are perfect for the little ones! Just be sure to slice your salad ingredients into long thin pieces so that blw beginners can easily grab the goodness and once your little one has mastered their pincer grip they’ll have no issues with the smaller pieces (corn, cherry tomatoes). When serving the sweet potato, simply slice them up into smaller pieces to they’re easily picked up.
To create your own bright and fresh everyday salad and hasselback sweet potatoes simply…
Begin by preheating your oven to 190 degrees celsius (370F) and line an oven tray with baking paper.
Trim the ends of 4 large sweet potato. Use a very sharp knife to cut a series of slits (3/4 deep) along each sweet potato. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with a dusting of salt-free bbq seasoning. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until golden and tender.
Meanwhile, line a large serving platter with a few handfuls of mixed salad leaves. I used baby spinach, rocket and mint leaves.
Halve the cherry tomatoes, cut the baby carrots into thin match sticks, thinly slice the avocado, cut the cucumber on the diagonal and cut the capsicum into thin long pieces.
Arrange the prepared salad ingredients, as well as the corn and feta, row-by-row on the awaiting bed of leafy greens.
In a small bowl place the dijon mustard, lemon juice and honey (use a pinch of sugar if your little one is under a year old) and whisk to combine. Add the extra virgin olive oil and whisk to combine. Set aside to serve over the salad later.
Cover the base of another serving dish with a handful or two of mixed leaves. Top with sweet potato and serve.
everyday salad with hasselback sweet potatoes
INGREDIENTS
4 large sweet potatoes, thoroughly washed
1 tablespoon salt-free bbq seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups of mixed leaves (baby spinach, rocket & mint)
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
2 baby carrots, cut into thin strips
1 red capsicum, cut into thin strips
half a cucumber, halved and cut on the diagonal
1 avocado, cut into thin strips
1 cup cooked corn kernels
100 grams feta, crumbled
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey (use a pinch of sugar if your little one is under the age of 1)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
METHOD
Preheat oven to 190 degrees celsius (370 F) and line an oven tray with baking paper. Trim the ends of each sweet potato and use a very sharp knife to cut a series of slits (3/4 deep) along each sweet potato. Sprinkle with seasoning, drizzle with oil and bake for 45-55 minutes or until golden and tender.
Meanwhile, place 3 cups of mixed leaves onto a large serving platter and arrange the cherry tomatoes, carrot, capsicum, cucumber, avocado, corn and feta, row-by-row.
In a small bowl place the mustard, lemon juice and honey and whisk to combine. Add the extra virgin olive oil and whisk to combine.
Cover the base of another serving dish with the remaining cup of mixed leaves. Top with sweet potato and serve alongside the salad and dressing. Enjoy x
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