Confetti salad with seedy sun-dried tomato oil

Sweet potato and black eyed peas with seedy sun-dried tomato oil

Sun-dried tomatoes are made by dehydrating tomatoes in the sun (or in a dehydrator, or the oven). As they dry, they lose most of their water content, resulting in sweet, tangy and chewy bites that are complete flavour bombs.

Dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes can also be used for this recipe. They have a chewy texture similar to dried fruit - I recommend rehydrating them first by soaking in water for 10 to 15 minutes, then drain, dry and chop them up.

I used Okinawa purple sweet potatoes which have a dense texture and a subtly sweet flavor. Any variety of sweet potato will work here.


Serves 6
— Gluten free / vegan

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Ingredients

• 150g (3/4 cup) dried black eyed peas (or 2 x 15.5 Ounce / 440g can black eyed peas, drained)
• 1 garlic clove
• sea salt and black pepper
• 450g (1 pound) sweet potato, washed and cut into 2cm (3/4 inch) cubes
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
extra virgin olive oil
• 140g (1 cup) frozen corn
• 1 capsicum / bell pepper, any color, diced
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 150g (5 ounces) cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• big handful basil leaves, torn or roughly chopped

Seedy sun-dried tomato oil

• 60ml (1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
• 6 oil-packed sun dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red chili (pepper) flakes
• sea salt and black pepper

Substitutions

• Black eyed peas: chickpeas
• Sweet potato: butternut squash, carrot, turnip
• Frozen corn: frozen peas, frozen edamame

1. Heat oven to 200˚C / 400˚F.

2. If cooking dried black eyed peas, place them into a medium pot and cover with 2 inches (5cm) of water. Add the garlic clove and 2 big pinches of salt. Place on medium high heat, bring to the boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer until tender, 35 to 45 minutes. When they are ready, add the corn just to blanch them. Drain. Gently stir the garlic clove to break to up (or discard).

3. Meanwhile, place the sweet potato on a baking sheet and add the ground coriander, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat and then arrange in a single layer. Roast until golden around the edges and tender, 18 to 20 minutes

4. To make the seedy sun-dried tomato oil, place the olive oil in small pot and heat on medium-high until hot but not smoking, about 1 to 2 minutes (if you are not sure, you can insert a wooden spoon or chopstick and if it sizzles, it is hot enough). Add the garlic, coriander and fennel seeds and cook until the garlic is turning golden and the seeds start to pop, about 2 minutes. Take off the heat, add the sun-dried tomatoes and red chili (pepper) flakes and season with salt and black pepper. Stir to combine. Set aside to cool.

5. In a large serving bowl, add the sweet potato, black eyed peas, corn, capsicum/bell pepper, red onion, and tomatoes. Add the seeded sun-dried tomato oil and toss to combine. Taste and season with sea salt and black pepper. Add the basil and toss again.

6. Serve at room temperature. The salad can be made up to 4 hours ahead and kept at room temperature.

   This salad keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.