Sweet potatoes defy logic: how can something so sweet and so creamy still qualify as a healthy vegetable? All I can say is thank goodness! On these cold and dreary winter days, a scoop of bright-orange sweet potatoes on my plate makes a welcome and cheery addition to dinner. How have you been eating sweet potatoes?
Sweet potatoes are one of the easiest vegetables to cook. I usually peel off the thin skin, slice them into chunks, and toss them with olive oil before roasting them in a 450°F oven.Sweet potatoes can also be roasted whole (like regular potatoes), boiled, steamed, or yes, deep-fryed. The potatoes are done when they're soft all the way through.
Cooked sweet potatoes are great on their own as a side dish, perhaps drizzled with a little butter and sprinkled with herbs. I make a big batch and then add them to frittatas, pastas, soups, salads, pizza, and casseroles all week long. A container of roasted sweet potatoes never goes to waste in my fridge.
When buying them, look for tubers that look plump; avoid any that have withered tips or shrunken spots along the length. They are best stored in a dark, cool place at room temperature (or slightly below), and will keep for several weeks. The skin is edible, but can have a rough texture so I usually peel it off before cooking.
Sweet Potato Recipes to Try:
• Sweet Potato, Ricotta, and Arugula Flatbread
• Roasted Sweet Potato Wraps with Caramelized Onions and Pesto
• Sweet Potato Hash with Sausage and Eggs
• Black Bean, Sweet Potato, and Quinoa Chili
• Sweet Potato Souffle with a Twist
What are your favorite ways to eat sweet potatoes?
Related: Good Question: Yams vs. Sweet Potatoes
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I'm with you: I never tire of sweet potatoes! My favorite recipe pairs it with my other favorite, Brussels sprouts: http://www.theppk.com/2008/11/chipotle-chili-with-sweet-potatoes-and-brussel-sprouts/
I recently discovered that you can eat sweet potatoes raw as well: I tried this intriguing sweet potato coleslaw. I love sweet potatoes and eat them all the time!
Oh, golly, we got so many sweet potatoes from our CSA during the autumn! I became quite inventive! Sweet potato hashbrowns turned out very crispy and delicious; I made a lovely chili with sweet potatoes, pumpkin ale, red beans and kale; Roasted carrot and sweet potato bisque;Kale, chickpea and sweet potato stew with cumin, lime, and smoked paprika; sweet potato flatbreads with roasted sweet potato and rosemary cooked into the dough; Sweet potato buns; croquettes with sweet potatoes, couscous and goat cheese; And many more!!
http://outoftheordinaryfood.com/?s=sweet+potato&submit=Search
They're awesome for thickening stews and chilis too. Peel 'em, chunk em' and add early enough that they can cook down to mush. I discovered this by accident when adding them (wayyyyy too early) to a roasted veggie soup - but was delighted by the delicious stewy matrix they created!
I made sweet potato chips Saturday! So good!
No-knead sweet potato rolls (www.thekitchn.com/easy-baking-recipe-noknead-swe-132580) and this gratin: www.thekitchn.com/recipe-sweet-po-4-157859 are now staples in my repertoire. Sweet potato latkes are great too. Delicious when served with cranberry sauce!
I'm currently obsessed with sweet potato gratin. I make this version (paleo / vegan) with almost alarming regularity now it's getting colder: http://meatified.com/sweet-potato-gratin/
Once we made sweet potato gnocchi and it was AMAZING. Lots of work and probably a once-a-year thing for us lazy cooks but nonetheless incredible.
Great baked whole and then topped with a dollop of natural yogurt and drizzle of honey for breakfast! Alternative topping of almond butter + maple syrup for vegan option
I love sweet potatoes! I use them to make Chicken and Bacon Pot Pie with a Sweet Potato Crust. http://tinyurl.com/clourkn or a Sweet Potato Cobbler http://tinyurl.com/cknm6y9.
My favorite way to eat them is cubed and tossed in olive oil, garlic powder, cayenne powder and salt then roasted in the oven at wicked high heat. Add fresh thyme right after they come out. Delicious - sweet, savory, crispy and creamy all at once.
WHAT? SPROUTS AND SWEET POTATOES?
I'm in.
I used to work with a woman at a kitchen store in the mall. She was friends with the woman who owned the fruit and veg stand outside. Almost every day, she would get two sweet potatoes from her, give them a good wash and then wrap in paper towel while wet. Each potato took two minutes in the microwave, then a turn, then about two minutes more depending on the size. She would keep one for herself and take the other out to her friend. Nice sharing of resources.
My favorite meal is a baked sweet potato, hot from the oven paired with a couple links of hot country sausage. This sweet and savory combo is divine. No toppings on the sp either, not even s&p. No need to improve on perfection.
I do use them in many other dishes as well but even those generally started out [at least partially] baked. So much easier to just pinch the ends off & remove the peeling in one piece than to peel them raw.
I think once you go sweet potato you never go back!! I could eat them every day! They are a perfect veggie for babies because of their sweetness-my son loves them! I can't count how many recipes I've made where I've substituted potatoes for sweet potatoes.
I make a soup from onions, veggie broth, cream and sweet potatoes. It is from the "Sugar 'Busters" cookbook. My husband says he is not a soup person but he loves this one, and so do I.
I have an uneasy relationship with sweet potatoes, as I find them cloying and sweet in a really nauseating way if they're prepared in any way that doesn't tone down their innate sweetness. The years I've spent trying not to visibly recoil at the smell of sweet potato casserole with marshmallows on it! I once had a bite of chili a friend made that had stealth sweet potato in it and had to leave the room to keep from gagging.
My husband feels the same way about them, but we are trying not to pass our food neuroses on to our kids, so we make them sometimes anyway. They're never going to be my favorite meal but I find I can deal with them if I cook them with the goal of counteracting their sweetness instead of playing it up, so I usually make them grilled or roasted with olive oil and lots (LOTS) of rosemary and cayenne.