Recipes: Sweet Potato Salad and Pickled Pepper Relish

the appetizer:

Potato Salad: 65 Recipes from Classic to Cool by Debbie Moose, includes recipes like Red, White, and Blue Potato Salad; Sweet Potato Salad; and Farmer's Market Salad.

Cookbook

Sweet Potato Salad

Serves 8 to 10

Chef Ben Barker of Magnolia Grill in Durham, North Carolina, says that even people who claim to hate sweet potatoes love this salad. Ben uses a homemade pepper relish, but you can use a commercial one. The recipe is from Not Afraid of Flavor: Recipes from Magnolia Grill, by Ben and Karen Barker (University of North Carolina Press, 2000).

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 cup Pickled Pepper Relish with juice (recipe follows)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Worcestershire sauce to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Cook the sweet potatoes in salted water until done but still firm. Plunge them in ice water to stop them from cooking and drain well.

Combine the relish, garlic, and Dijon mustard in a bowl. Whisk in the olive oil, as well as salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce to taste.

Fold in the sweet potatoes and Italian parsley and toss gently. Keeps refrigerated for 2 days. Serve at room temperature.

Pickled Pepper Relish

Makes 2 pints

1 cup green bell pepper, seeded, stemmed, and cut into small dice
1-1/2 cups red bell pepper, seeded, stemmed and cut into small dice
1 medium red onion, cut into small dice
6 ounces cider vinegar
3 ounces sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
2 dried chipotles, halved and seeded (optional)

Place the vegetables in a 2-quart nonreactive pot. Pour in enough boiling water to cover the vegetables and let stand for 10 minutes. Drain.

Add the vinegar, sugar, salt, celery seed, and chipotles, if desired, to the vegetables. Bring to a boil and then simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.

To can the relish, ladle it into 2 hot pint jars and fill to within 1/4 inch of the rim. Wipe the rim, seal the lids, and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Start timing after the water bath reaches full boil. Check to be sure the jars are securely sealed. The relish will keep for up to 6 months.

If you prefer to skip the canning, this relish can be refrigerated for up to 3 months, covered, in clean, sterile containers.

This recipe can be scaled up easily, but be cautious with the chipotles.