Sweet potatoes! They’re not just for thanksgiving.
Sweet potatoes could/should be a healthy part of your diet any time of the year. They are nutrient dense, bringing vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese and other healthy vitamins and minerals to your plate but only about 180 calories (in a cup of sweet potatoes) to your waistline. That is, as they say, a win/win. Scientists believe they help support our immune system and healthy vision, too.
The sweet potatoes is a South American native plant. Columbus wrote about them in his journals and carried the plant back to Spain in the 1500s. They became a part of the North Amerian colonists’ diet in the 1600s.
This recipe is from Sami Tamimi’s wonderful new cookbook, Boustany: A Celebration Of Vegetables From My Palestine. Tamimi, by the way, co-authored two cookbooks with Yotam Ottolenghi (Jerusalem and Ottolenghi: The Cookbook) and a previous solo cookbook, Falastin. His cookbooks are all available through your local bookstore or on Amazon here.
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen. This would be an interesting dish to offer on your Thanksgiving table. Pretty, too.
Loaded Sweet Potatoes With Black-Eyed Peas
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes
- 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 2 T. olive oil
- 1/4 t. ground cumin
- 1/8 t. ground cinnamon
- 14 ounce can black-eyed peas (drained and rinsed)
- 7 T. water
- Salt and black pepper
- For the Toppings:
- 3 1/2 ounces cherry tomatoes
- 1 1/2 T. olive oil
- 2 T. parsley (chopped)
- 2 T. fresh mint leaves (sliced)
- 1 T. lemon juice
- Flaked sea salt
- Parsley, Crumbled feta and Mint for garnish
- Tahini Sauce
- 1/2 C. tahini
- 1/2 C. cold water
- 3 T. lemon juice
- 1 small garlic clove (crushed)
- Salt
- Green Lemon Sauce
- 1/2 C. fresh parsley (chopped fine)
- 1 green chile (chopped fine)
- 5 T. lemon juice
- 2 T. white wine vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
- Salt
Directions
- Step 1 To prepare the Sweet Potatoes: Clean sweet potatoes and cut them in half. Arrange them on a parchment-lined tray (cut side down) and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes in a 425 degree F. oven. Uncover, and bake or 30 to 40 minutes more. The sweet potatoes should be soft and they will have a pretty caramelization on the cut side. When the sweet potatoes are done, turn them flesh side up and sprinkle with some flaked sea salt like Maldon. Set aside.
- Step 2 Heat oil in a saucepan and saute the garlic for about 2 minutes until it is soft but not browned. Add cumin and cinnamon and continue to cook for another minute. Add the black-eyed peas, water, 1/4 t. salt and a bit of ground black pepper to the saucepan and cook this mixture for approximately 20 more minutes. You want the liquid to be reduced. Mash a few of the peas at this point in the pan. Set aside.
- Step 3 Prepare the Tahini Sauce and the Green Lemon Sauce. To prepare the Tahini Sauce, combine tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic and 1/4 t. salt in a small bowl. Using a wooden spoon, whisk the mixture until the sauce is thick and pourable. Adjust seasonings to your taste. To prepare the Green Lemon Sauce, combine the parsley, chile, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic and 1 t. salt in a small bowl. If you need to prepare this in advance, do not add the parsley until serving time. Set aside.
- Step 4 Begin preparing the toppings.Chop tomatoes. In a small bowl, add the tomatoes, oil, chopped herbs, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Stir. Set aside.
- Step 5 Arrange the sweet potatoes on a pretty platter. Spoon some of the black-eyed peas on top of the sweet potatoes. Spoon some of the tomatoes, green lemon sauce and the tahini sauce over the sweet potatoes. Sprinkle some freshly-torn mint and parsley leaves over the sweet potatoes. Finally, sprinkle with feta over the sweet potatoes, drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle a few more flakes of sea salt over the sweet potatoes.
