Tomatoes may be gone for the season, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make a tasty salsa. For this salsa, I used cooked sweet potatoes in place of tomatoes which paired well with black beans. I added some more color to the mix with red peppers, cilantro and scallions.
I recommend serving this with a scoop-style tortilla chip, but any tortilla chip will do. While I made this to serve as an appetizer at a festive pumpkin carving party, it also makes a nice side salad or accompaniment to a main dish. I served the leftovers (which held up nicely) with grilled pork chops the following night.
If you have time, cook dried black beans – they are so tasty and so easy to make. If you use canned beans, rinse them well as you don’t want them to discolor the beautiful salsa.
| Sweet Potato and Black Bean Salsa | | Print |
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, about 2 cups chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups black beans, rinsed well
- 1 medium red pepper, cut into small pieces
- 1 medium jalapeño pepper, seeds removed and cut into fine pieces
- ½ cup chopped cilantro (about one large handful chopped)
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
- Tortilla chips for serving
- Juice of one lime, about an ounce
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Peel and cut the sweet potatoes in about a ¼-inch dice. Heat 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook sweet potatoes for about 15 minutes until they are softened and a bit blackened. They should be somewhat soft on the inside. Let cool.
- While sweet potatoes are cooling, Whisk lime juice and sherry vinegar in a small bowl to blend. Add extra virgin olive oil in a steady stream while whisking. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place sweet potatoes, black beans, red pepper, jalapeño pepper, cilantro, and scallions in a bowl. Toss with dressing to coat.
- Cover and refrigerate at least an hour and up to three hours before serving.
- Serve with tortilla chips.
* I highly recommend preparing dried beans for this recipe if you have time - they are so much better.
* While I served this as an appetizer, it can also be a side or accompaniment to a main dish.
Well, I know first-hand how delicious this kind of combination can be, because I make it for a living! Sweet potatoes have traditionally been paired with other sweet things, but to me that’s overkill, like putting salt on sea water. I always love pairing them with savory flavors instead, much like this recipe.
I also recommend having this kind of recipe for breakfast, with eggs if you eat them, on a breakfast burrito wrap if you don’t. Nice work!
Lisa – I just checked out your YummyYammy.com and agree with you – sweet potatoes are much better served in the savory world than the sweet world. I finally found an hour this morning to make the sweet potatoes that had been sitting in my pantry. I’m going to check out your salsa.