Sweet Potato and Black Bean Salad: "School Cafeteria to Table" in Vermont

Guest Blogger, Anore Horton, Child Nutrition Advocacy Manager at Hunger Free Vermont

This recipe is from New School Cuisine: Nutritious and Seasonal Recipes for School Cooks by School Cooks—a whole book of recipes from Vermont school kitchens, available free online.

You’d be amazed at some of the delicious, nutritious, and localvore fare being created and served in Vermont’s schools.  Thanks to this cookbook, you can now serve these delicious recipes at home, and every one of them is kid-tested and kid-approved! 

One catch, though—you’ll have to scale down the quantities to feed your family instead of a school!  I scaled down this delicious sweet potato and black bean salad recipe to make ½ cup servings for 6 people as follows:

1 sweet potato

1+ tsp of lime juice and zest (more to taste)

1 ½ tsp vegetable oil

½ tsp of ground cumin – divided

½ tsp of ground coriander – divided

kosher salt to taste

1/8+ of a bunch of fresh cilantro, to taste

1 ½ tsp of rice wine or white wine vinegar

honey—to taste

1 ½ tsp of olive oil

1 ½ cup of canned black beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:

1.      Preheat oven to 425

2.      Peel sweet potato (if desired) and cut into ¼ inch cubes

3.      Toss sweet potato cubes, vegetable oil, ¼ tsp cumin, ¼ tsp coriander, and pinch of salt together

4.      Spread mixture in a single layer in a baking pan and roast in the oven, stirring once, until fork tender and beginning to brown (about 10 minutes)

5.      Set aside to cool

6.      Meanwhile, remove tough stems from cilantro and discard; chop cilantro leaves and small stems; add lime juice and zest, vinegar, honey if desired, the remaining ¼ tsp of cumin and ¼ tsp of coriander, olive oil, and a pinch of salt

7.      Stir or pulse mixture in a food processor until it is mostly smooth

8.      Toss the cooled sweet potato, black beans, and dressing together.  Serve chilled.

As someone who works with schools to make sure school meals are reaching all students—especially those most at risk of hunger—I know that meal quality matters.  Food needs to look appealing and taste great if kids (not to mention adults) are going to eat it, and this hearty salad wins on both counts with its beautiful colors and sour/sweet/spicy flavor tones. 

Beans and legumes are an important source of protein and nutrients, and a required component of weekly school menus under the new USDA nutrition regulations.  In addition, beans are a lower cost food item that helps school meal program budgets, and they are now also an important part of Vermont’s USDA commodity food order each year.

Paired with some locally-grown sweet potatoes, they make a great dish I hope you enjoy as much as I did!