Roasted Japanese Sweet Potato Salad with Dill, Mint, Feta, and Labneh

This potato salad is a marriage of fresh Middle Eastern ingredients and savory, rich Asian-ish ingredients. It’s light, earthy, and herbaceous, while still giving all the creamy, heartiness of a good potato salad. I like to roast potatoes in any potato salad for extra depth of flavor and crunch, and it especially elevates the Japanese sweet potato that otherwise can become dry and grainy when boiled. These ingredients sum up all the flavors I look for in a summery side dish: tangy creamy labneh, briny feta, tons of fresh bright herbs like dill, cilantro, and mint, lemon, honey, and salty miso.

If you’re looking to branch out and try a little bit of an unconventional potato salad, this recipe is for you.

Roasted Japanese Sweet Potato Salad with Dill, Mint, Feta, and Labne

• 2 large Japanese sweet potatoes, scrubbed well

• Olive oil, salt, and black pepper, for roasting

• 1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced into half-moon rings

• 1/2 cup feta in brine, cubed

• 1 cup labne (can sub with sour cream or crème fraîche)

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil (can sub with mayo)

• 3 tbs. tahini

• 1 tsp. sesame oil

• 2 tbs. honey

• 2 tbs. white miso paste

• 1/4 cup lemon juice, about 1 1/2 lemons

• Zest from 1 lemon

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/2 tsp. salt, + more to reach desired taste

• Ground black pepper

• 1 tsp. ground coriander

• 1/4 cup fresh dill, roughly chopped

• 1/4 cup fresh mint, roughly chopped

• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly choppeed

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.

Cut the potatoes into even bite-sized cubes, leaving the skin on. Toss well with olive oil, salt, and black pepper to coat thoroughly. Spread onto two parchment-lined baking sheets so that they are not crowding each other, three if needed. Roast for 15 minutes, toss the potatoes, and then roast for another 10, or until golden brown on the exterior and soft in the middle. Whle roasting, prepare the dressing:

In a large mixing bowl, mix the labne, tahini, olive oil, honey, miso paste, lemon juice, zest, minced garlic, salt, ground coriander, and black pepper together. Adjust seasoning with more salt, lemon, or honey as needed.

Once the potatoes are cooked, place 2 cups of them while warm into the bowl with the dressing. Add the red onions. Toss to coat the potatoes and onions in the dressing well. Set aside or refrigerate until cooled down to room temperature. Fold in the herbs and feta. Refrigerate until chilled completely before serving.