Hiya!! Happy, Happy New Year! Guys, it's 2017!!! I know it sounds cliche to say it, but how is that possible!! Around here a new year means a whole lot of new recipes, so while we're on the subject, anything you'd like to see more of? Less of? Any food genres I'm completely missing the boat on or tried and true recipes you have that you'd like to share? I'd love to hear your feedback! New year, new us, right? And with that in mind, I thought that after the excesses of the last few weeks (and hours--don't even get me started--there was peanut butter chocolate sprinkle cake a our new year's eve bash last night!!) I thought we'd start off the week with something light and healthy and kinda guilt-free:  Spicy Sweet Potato Apple Radish Slaw Tacos. Yeah, there are a lot of words in the title and it doesn't exactly come trippingly off the tongue, but I just didn't want to leave out any of the components, because the combo of the warm, caramelized, spicy sweet potatoes and the crunchy brightness of the apple radish slaw is not only good for you but just plain good tasting! Who says healthy can't be delicious too?!!!

The roasted sweet potato filling is yummy of course but it's the apple radish slaw that knocks this dish out of the park. Are you a radish person? After tasting this slaw, I know that I don't cook with them nearly often enough and that will definitely be changing this year--looks like I'll be adding that to my resolutions, so if radishes are your thing, you should be extra happy as there will probably be quite a lot of them featured on these pages in the coming weeks!

These tacos also come together in under an hour with most of that hands-free so they're perfect for busy weeknights. Everybody in my house loved them and requested them again, so I think they will be going on my regular dinner rotation, especially with my new-found love of radishes!! Every bite is fresh and new--sort of like a new year. Here's to delicious one with all of you!!!

Spicy Sweet Potato Apple Radish Slaw Tacos

Makes 4 servings as an appetizer or serves 2 for dinner--recipe doubles easily though

Prep Time:  45 minutes

Ingredients

For the Tacos

• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• Pinch of salt and black pepper
• 4 flour tortillas

For the Slaw

• 1 sweet apple (I used Gala) 
• 8-10 small red radishes
• 4 scallions, chopped finely
• Juice of 1 lime or lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste

The Recipe

1.  To make the tacos:   Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, toss the sweet potatoes with the oil, chili powder, salt and pepper and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Roast for about 25-30 minutes, turning once during the process, until golden brown.

2.  While the sweet potatoes are roasting, make the slaw. Slice the apple into 4 sections around the core. Slice one section into very thin planks, then stack the planks and slice them into thin matchsticks. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with the rest of the apple. Slice the radishes into thin planks, stack them and cut into matchsticks as well. Transfer to the bowl as well.

3.  Add the scallions, lime juice, oil, parsley salt and pepper and toss all the ingredients together. Cover the bowl and chill for about 30 minutes. You can make this up to one day ahead and leave covered in the fridge.

4.  Warm or grill the tortillas (I usually wrap mine in foil and stick in the oven just as the sweet potatoes are almost done). Fill the tortillas with the sweet potato mixture and an generous scoop of the slaw. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Note:  Recipe adapted from The Love and Lemons Cookbook by Jeanine Donofrio. I tinkered around a lot with this one--left out the avocado, subbed in parsley for the cilantro and changed the proportions of things too--feel free to make it your own.