The red berries are normally dished up in sweet foods because sugar balances their tartness. In this salad, the cranberries get tossed in just a smidgen of maple syrup to take off their mouth-puckering edge, but not all of their bitterness. The syrup also prevents the cranberries from bleeding their color into the sweet potatoes while the mixture is roasting. The resulting salad combines our favorite fall flavors and is hearty enough to eat as a light vegetarian meal. But it would also taste fantastic alongside a piece of seared meat, like pork tenderloin. The dressing can be made up to one week ahead of time, while the potatoes and cranberries can be roasted a day in advance.