Sweet potato and avocado salad

Name: Sweet potato and avocado salad
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients: Sweet potato 2 medium (about 300 g); Avocado 1; Red onion 1/4; Olive oil 1 tbsp; Lemon juice 1 tbsp; Salt and pepper to taste

Cooling the sweet potato is the trick: resistant starch increases, and the avocado's fat carries the beta-carotene.

2 servings30 min

Ingredients

Sweet potato2 medium (about 300 g)
Avocado1
Red onion1/4
Olive oil1 tbsp
Lemon juice1 tbsp
Salt and pepperto taste

Method

Scrub the sweet potatoes and steam them whole, skin on, for 20 minutes. Steaming raises blood sugar more gently than roasting.
Let them lose their steam, then chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Peel and dice — or leave the skin on if you prefer.
Dice the avocado; slice the red onion thinly and soak it in cold water for five minutes, then drain.
Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper into a dressing.
Toss everything gently so the avocado does not break down.

Cooking note

There is a reason for steaming rather than roasting. Roasting breaks more of the starch down into sugar, so the same sweet potato lands at a markedly higher glycaemic index baked than boiled or steamed. Chilling then converts part of the starch into resistant starch, which passes the small intestine unabsorbed and reaches the colon.