Super Simple Sides: All-Spice Sweet Potato & French Lentil Salad with Feta Cheese
You know when you pin something on Pinterest and you have to immediately make it? That's how I felt about this jerk chicken recipe. I'm kind of addicted to Pinterest so have zillions of recipes pinned that I will never get around to making, but sometimes there's one that just sticks with me and I cannot go on until I've made it.
We had my sister and her boyfriend over for dinner in the new house as a thank you for all their help with the move. Jerk chicken seemed like it would be great for a small group, especially since we could use our grill! As such, I needed the perfect side to accompany the chicken. This did just the trick. It was gently spiced, sweet yet earthy, had a tender bite to it from the firm lentils, and a pop of salty cheese to finish things off. The best part was everyone was amazed how I just threw it together with no recipe, hehe.
All-Spice Sweet Potato & French Lentil Salad with Feta Cheese
Serves: 4 as a side
Preparation Time: 45 minutes, mostly inactive
Ingredients:
3-4 sweet potatoes, diced
3/4 c. French (puy) lentils (do not use red or yellow lentils for this)
2 bay leaves
1.25 c. water
a good glug of olive oil
1-2 tsp. good quality all-spice
a pinch or two of coarse salt
1/2 c. feta cheese, crumbled
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease two baking sheets with a little bit of olive oil or cooking spray. Spread sweet potatoes in one layer on the sheets. Roast until slightly browned, about 30 minutes. About half way through roasting, rotate baking sheets to ensure even roasting.
2. While the potatoes are roasting, make the lentils. Rinse and sort the lentils and then place in a sauce pan, along with the bay leaves and water. Do not add salt to the water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a gentle simmer. Continue to simmer uncovered until most of the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Check the lentils for firmness and then once nicely al dente, drain excess water from pan. Let sit covered until ready to use.
3. Combine slightly cooled sweet potatoes and lentils. Pour in a good glug (like that term?) of olive oil and stir to coat. Sprinkle with allspice, salt and feta cheese. Stir again to combine.
