4 ways with sweet potatoes

I’m kind of obsessed with sweet potatoes right now. These spuds are everywhere this month. And they’re so tasty, versatile and cheap! These are from my neighbors’ garden.

Step inside my sweet potato insanity, won’t you?

1. Sweet potato pancakes with kim chi and soy vinegar dipping sauce. So, so, so good and even better as leftovers since they’re easily frozen for a fast weeknight meal. Recipe here.

2. Sweet potato ice cream! 

The ultimate cool weather dessert! Recipe from The Perfect Scoop, the greatest ice cream cookbook ever. (Scroll down to the bottom of the page here; I didn’t bother to make the candied walnuts).

3. Sweet potato salad with caramelized onions and guajillo chile dressing

For too long, I associated sweet potatoes with marshmallows at Thanksgiving, which isn’t my fave way to eat them (I’m not a fan of sweet and savory together). But this potato salad made me first rethink the humble spud. It marries spicy guajillo chiles with caramelized onions and sweet potatoes dusted with stinky cheese. It’s a big favorite in my house. (Recipe adapted from my fave Mexican cookbook Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless, find a copy of the recipe here.)

4. Grilled sweet potato “hummus”

June loves hummus (or “hummie,” as she calls it) and oftentimes it’s the only way I can get her to eat vegetables — I think she likes the creaminess of it — so I made a similar dip from spuds. I pack a bit of it into her lunches and it’s great for crudite, spreading on sandwiches, toast, crackers with cheese, hard boiled eggs, whatever.

• 2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed
• 1 red onion, thickly sliced (try to keep the slices intact for easier grilling)
• 1 small hot pepper, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 and 3/4 teaspoon cumin, divided
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/4 cup rough chopped cilantro

Preheat the grill to medium high. Stab each sweet potato with a fork several times. Microwave on high for 6 to 7 minutes or until fork tender. Cool slightly and cut in half, lengthwise.

Stir the olive oil with the garlic, 3/4 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Brush evenly over the cut sides of the sweet potatoes, the onion and the peppers. Grill the onions and pepper for 10 minutes, turning frequently to prevent burning. Add the sweet potatoes, cut side down, and grill for an additional 5 minutes, rearranging the veg as necessary over the heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Into a food processor, add the onions, pepper and sweet potatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cumin and the lime juice. Blend until smooth. Add the sour cream and cilantro and blend again.  Makes about 3-4 cups.  Keep covered in the refrigerator.

Knock yourself out.

UPDATE: Yeah, so turns out these aren’t even sweet potatoes. They’re yams. Doh!

Tagged as: sweet potato dip, sweet potato ice cream, sweet potato pancakes, sweet potato recipes, sweet potato salad