Sweet Potato And Bell Pepper Salad

I love salad. I love running. I love my best friend. What do these three things have to do with each other? Two weeks ago I ran my first marathon with my wonderful sister, Chemist Cuisinier, PhD (this was marathon #5 for her). Among the group waiting for me at the finish line was my absolute very best friend in the entire world. After hugging and bawling our eyes out, she gave me the Greatest Ever Salads cookbook. I finally got a chance today to take a closer look at it and pick out a delicious recipe to make for us.

Because this salad is such a strange and unexpected combination of ingredients, I didn't really know what to, well, expect. I must admit, when I started slicing the eggplant I was slightly skeptical. Ok, maybe more than slightly. I even had to look up some pictures of sliced eggplant to make sure there wasn't something wrong with it. But after cooking everything and putting the salad together, I was pleasantly surprised with how delicious it was. The variety of textures--soft sweet potatoes, spongy eggplant, crunchy bell peppers--and flavors really enhance and compliment each other. The balsamic vinegar was not overpowering in the least bit, and really brought out the flavor of the eggplant. I give this salad 15/10! We ate it all up. Every. Last. Bit.


Salad:
2 Sweet Potatoes, washed and cubed
1 T Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
2 Cloves Garlic, crushed
1 Large Eggplant, sliced
2 Red Bell Peppers, seeded and sliced
7 oz Mixed Salad Greens
3 Sticks Mozzarella Cheese  Sticks, sliced

Dressing:
1 1/2 T Balsamic Vinegar
1 Clove Garlic, crushed
3 T Olive Oil
1 tsp Herbs Provence
Pepper
Salt

1. Preheat the oven to 375. In a bowl, mix the sweet potato with oil and lightly season with salt and pepper. Mix in garlic. Bake for about 30 minutes, until soft and browned.

2. Preheat the broiler to high. Arrange the eggplant and bell pepper slices on the broiler pan and cook for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until soft.

3. To make the dressing, whisk the vinegar, garlic, herbs provence, and oil together. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. To serve, divide the salad greens between 4 serving plates and arrange the sweet potato, eggplant, bell peppers, and mozzarella on top. Drizzle with dressing.

Mahlzeit!
-Coriaunty