Tag: Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potato Tacos

On By lukephillaryhIn Hillary's DishesLeave a comment
Sweet potato and black bean tacos
Weekday deliciousness

I’ve been making this meal since college. It’s inexpensive, healthy, easy, and quite tasty. And with the sweet potato’s recent growth in popularity (in 2015, farmers produced more sweet potatoes than in any year since World War II) this recipe turns out to be in vogue as well! For Luke and I, sweet potato tacos are a reliable weekday meal. We often neglect this recipe, as it’s almost too basic. But, when we made it recently and spruced up our tacos with a couple extra fixings we looked at our plates and both said, “Damn! These tacos are kinda good looking!” Like, cover of a magazine good looking. We decided they’re worth sharing. This recipe is somewhat of an original, though the black beans are a riff on a Goya recipe, courtesy of the back of the can. Shout out to Goya Foods!

Ingredients:

  • 2-4 sweet potatoes (depending on size), cut into 1-inch pieces
  • olive oil
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 can black beans
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 jalapeno finely chopped (optional)
  • 1 TBS red wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/4-1/2 cup water
  • 8-10 soft tortillas
  • cilantro, finely chopped (for topping)
  • feta cheese, crumbled (for topping)

Directions:

  1. Begin by roasting the sweet potatoes. Preheat oven to 425°F. In a bowl, mix the sweet potatoes with 1-2 TBS olive oil, cumin, chili powder, and 1 tsp salt and pepper. Move sweet potatoes to a large baking sheet and spread evenly. It’s best if each sweet potato has some breathing room. You don’t want them overlapping! Roast for 30-35 minutes, making sure to check halfway through. Give em a shake so they get a little brown on all sides.
  2. While sweet potatoes are roasting, make the beans. Heat 1-2 TBS olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add onions, bell pepper, and jalapeno. Cook for about 6 minutes, or until onions are translucent and peppers are soft. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more. Pour in the beans, with their juices. Fill the can with water a little less than halfway. Stir water around to make sure all the contents of the can are loose and pour into saucepan.  Add red wine vinegar, oregano, and 1 tsp salt. Bring beans to a boil and then simmer uncovered. Simmer for 15-2o minutes, or until sauce has thickened.
  3. When sweet potatoes are finished, mash slightly on the sheet. You want them to be a little chunky.
  4. While everything is finishing up, we advising warming up your tortillas. Either for 1 minute in the microwave, or a little nicer, individually in a skillet (this will give them a bit of charring).
  5. Assemble your tacos to your liking! We start with a base of sweet potatoes, a scoop of beans, a few drops of Valentina Salsa Picante, some freshly chopped cilantro, and a scattering of feta cheese.

Details: Serves 2-4. You’ll have plenty of beans, so roast more sweet potatoes if you’re trying to feed a few more mouths!

Ottolenghi Inspired Sweet Potatoes

On By lukephillaryhIn Veggie1 Comment
Sweet Potatoes Ottolenghi recipe
Happiness on a plate

I’m on team sweet potato. But, I haven’t always been a sweet potato enthusiast. In fact, growing up I was a serious potato fanatic, strictly of the yukon and russet variety. Potato chips, mashed potatoes, french fries – these were some of my favorite foods. In 8th grade, for my birthday my friends gave me a cookbook with entirely potato recipes. I used to preach my love of potatoes to others, telling people that “potatoes make you happy,” though my scientific backing on this point was shaky. Alas, tastebuds change. I still salivate over salty potato chips and buttery mashed potatoes, these are eternally beloved foods. And though I often order sweet potato fries, they can never match the crunchy fried goodness of classic french fries. But, all and all, I much prefer the nuance a sweet potato adds to a meal.

This Ottolenghi recipe originally calls for butternut squash, but Luke and I substituted squash for sweet potatoes because they are delicious, abundant, and cheaper.

Ingredients:

  • 2 sweet potatoes, cut into wedges
  • 4-5 shallots, cut into thin slices lengthwise
  • 3-4 TBS olive oil
  • 3 TBS tahini paste
  • 1 1/2 TBS lemon juice
  • 2 TBS water
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 TBS za’atar
  • salt & pepper

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 475ºF.
  2. Spread sweet potato wedges on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 TBS olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Thoroughly mix with your hands so the wedges are well coated with olive oil and then arrange on the baking sheet, skin side down. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes.
  3. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1-2 TBS olive oil. Once olive oil is warm, add the shallots. Sauté for 15-20 minutes, until caramelized, stirring often and lowering heat if necessary to avoid burning.
  4. Once sweet potatoes have finished cooking, combine with caramelized shallots. Let cool while making the sauce. Combine tahini, lemon juice, water, garlic, and 1/4 tsp salt in a small bowl. Whisk until the sauce is the consistency of honey, adding more water or lemon juice to thin (or more tahini to thicken) if necessary.
  5. To serve, spread the vegetables on a platter and drizzle over tahini sauce. Sprinkle with za’atar. You can also garnish with parsley and/or toasted pine nuts.

Details: Serves 4