Sweet Potato + Quinoa Salad

Daniel's a good sport.  He's a willing guinea pig despite the fact that "cooking" = experimenting in our house...and I love cooking!  Even if I have a recipe to go by, it's really just loose guidelines as far as I'm concerned.  And that's how this sweet potato + quinoa "salad" was born.

Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad
1 medium sweet potato
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp italian seasoning
1 tsp coriander
approx. 1 cup cooked quinoa
(we used the organic red quinoa from trader joe's, but I'm sure any quinoa would work)
a handful of raisins 
agave nectar, to taste

- cube your sweet potato into 1/2" - 1" pieces (I microwaved mine for a minute or two to make it easier to cut...I'm sure that helped with the cooking time later too)

- heat the olive oil in a large pan or skillet, then add the sweet potato.  stir until the edges of the sweet potato begin to firm up, but not totally brown yet.


- add the coriander and continue stirring for a minute or two


- once your sweet potato begins to brown nicely, add the italian seasoning and raisins then stir, stir, stir... after a couple of minutes, the raisins should be nicely softened and you should have a nice, golden crust on the potato bits

- remove potato mixture from heat source and assemble salad by combining them with the quinoa in a bowl.  serve in bowls with a swirl of agave nectar (to taste) in each.

We had enough for each of us to have supper, plus a tad that I ate cold for breakfast the next morning - Daniel wasn't sure if he liked it better with or without the agave, but I definitely preferred the agave - give it a try both ways and see which way you prefer.  

happy cooking!