Roasted Sweet Potato salad with Asiago Caesar dressing

Sweet potatoes (not the orange yams) are absolutely delicious roasted as roasting concentrates the flavor of the potato. I toss them with sweet Vidalia onions and roast together. Once slightly cooled, I combine the potato and onion mixture with finely sliced sun-dried tomatoes, and toss them with some lettuce drizzled with caesar dressing and sprinkled with roasted pistachios. The combination of flavors ie. sweet, sour and salty is perfectly balanced by the addition of the creamy dressing.

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Asiago Caesar Dressing

2 medium sized Japanese sweet potatoes (red skin with white flesh)
1/2 large Vidalia onion (this is a sweet onion)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Scant 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 large sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil)
2 handfuls of organic baby lettuce mix
2 tablespoons roasted shelled unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped
Caesar dressing to serve ( I used an anchovy-free dressing) [substitute with Ranch if required]

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F. 
2. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Similarly, peel the Vidalia onion and cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
3. Toss the cubed potato and chopped onion mixture with olive oil, salt and pepper and mix well. Lay them out in a single layer on a light weight baking sheet. (You want the potatoes to caramelize and not steam).
4. Place the baking sheet in the middle rack of the oven and cook for 20 minutes till the potatoes begin to caramelize and the tips of the onions turn brown. Remove from the oven and transfer to the salad bowl.
5. Cut the sun-dried tomatoes into thin strips and mix with the warm potato and onion mixture. 
6. Add the coarsely chopped pistachios to the mixture as well. When cool, add the lettuce and toss.
7. Serve with the dressing on the side for each person to drizzle as much as they like.

Serves 4