With summer nearly upon us, we are already planning a summer of BBQs, cookouts and picnics. While I am not a mayo hater by any means, I have always felt indifferent about traditional mayo-based potato salads. It’s just not my thing, something about it doesn’t sit well with me. I think it’s years of seeing it sitting in the sun at picnics, uncovered looking all gnarly. Yuck.

I have over the years developed several variations instead on vinegar and herby based potato and sweet potato salads that have become staples at all of my summer shindigs. That is until this Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon from Heather Christo’s book Pure Delicious. For the foreseeable future, this may just give all other potato salads the boot! It’s that good.

This Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon is reminiscent of my grandmother’s classic vinegar and bacon based warm german potato salad, but with the use of sweet potato instead of regular potatoes and addition of the celery and green onions this is right up my alley. There is a perfect crunch from the fresh veggies, beautiful vibrant color from the sweet potatoes, a hint of tang and a little heat from the mustard vinaigrette and that smokey, salty, crunchy goodness from the bacon.

This recipe comes from my friend Heather Christo’s brand new book, Pure Delicious. This book, I know, will resonate with so many of you. It comes from a food loving, trained chef and former caterer who spent years developing recipes. After a health-scare with her young daughter, Heather was forced to face the music, that food allergies and intolerances are not just a fad, they are an epidemic and she was now dealing with it personally. Her daughter Pia was tested for 13 common allergens and it came back positive that she was allergic to 12 of the 13. The doctors literally shrugged their shoulders and said in a nutshell ‘sorry we don’t know what to tell you.’ Heather began researching finding the right doctors and filling our forms after forms. Through the journey of investigating her daughter’s food allergies and symptoms, Heather began to take note just now many of these symptoms she herself was experiencing, so she too had herself and her youngest daughter Coco tested and they each came back with a long list of their own allergens. Big changes happened and as a family they began avoiding gluten, dairy, egg, soy and cane sugar, along with additional ingredients individually based on their results.

There are over 150 recipes, in Pure Delicious, each and every one free of the following known allergens, gluten, dairy, shellfish, cane sugar, peanuts, soy, eggs and tree nuts. Included in this incredible cookbook is Heather and her family’s story of transformation along with tips about allergy testing, an 8 week food elimination diet, plus tips on setting up a allergen-safe kitchen and more.

[print_this]Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon {gluten-free, paleo-friendly}
servings 4 to 6

Salad

• kosher salt
• 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 4 uncured bacon slices (we opt for local, pasture-raised whenever we can get it)
• 1 cup thinly sliced celery hearts
• 2 cup thinly sliced green onions

Mustard Vinaigrette

• 2 red Fresno chile, seeded and minced*
• 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• kosher salt

1. Bring a medium-large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the sweet potatoes and simmer until just fork-tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and briefly and gently rinse them with cold water. Set aside.

2. Cook the bacon slices until crisp. Drain on paper towels then crumble into a large bowl. Add the celery and green onions.

3. To make the mustard vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together the chile, mustard, garlic, vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt.

4. Add the sweet potatoes to the bacon, celery, and green onions and toss with the mustard vinaigrette. Season with salt. Serve warm or at room temperature, or refrigerate and serve chilled.

 

NOTES: I couldn’t get my hands on a fresno chile, so I opted for half a red bell pepper and added red pepper flakes

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Reprinted from Pure Delicious by arrangement with Pam Krauss Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © 2016, Heather Christo LLC

Photographs copyright © 2016, Heather Christo, LLC

 

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