Instead of making a traditional potato salad, why not make it eye-healthier using dark fleshed sweet potatoes and red bell peppers, high in antioxidants Vitamins A and C. And instead of a mayonnaise dressing (that you have to worry about in the heat), we’re using an olive oil based vinaigrette, high in omega-3 fatty acids which are also important to eye health.

 

What you’ll need to serve 6-8:
4 large sweet potatoes

Olive oil for grilling

1 bunch green onions, sliced diagonally

1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1-2 jalapenos, seeded and finely diced

¼ cup coarsely chopped cilantro

For the vinaigrette:
½ cup olive oil

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

¼ cup cider vinegar

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt and freshly ground pepper

What you’ll do:
Par-cook the potatoes by placing potatoes in large saucepan and covering with salted cold water by 1 inch and simmer, covered, until just tender, about 15 to 30 minutes, depending on size of potatoes. In a colander, drain potatoes and rinse under cold water to cool. Peel potatoes with a sharp knife and cut crosswise into ½-inch slices. Brush with extra olive oil.

While potatoes are boiling, prepare grill. Place oiled potato slices on grill. Grill for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from grill, chop into bite-size chunks and place in a large bowl.
Add the green onions, red bell pepper and jalapeno to the bowl.

For the vinaigrette, whisk together the olive oil, vinegars, mustard, honey and cumin. Season generously with salt and pepper to taste.

Add ¾ of the dressing and the cilantro and toss gently. The salad should be moist but not runny. If it seems dry, add remaining dressing and gently toss again.

Thoughts and variations: You can also grill the green onions, red bell peppers and jalapenos before they are sliced/diced (lightly oil them before they go on the grill); if you don’t want to grill, just prepare the potatoes by simmering them either whole or peeled and cut into chunks, until just tender. If you are not a cilantro lover, Italian parsley can be substituted as the fresh herb.