What better way to start ‘4 ways to…..’ than with the student favourite, the sweet potato.
Oh the sweet potato, where do I begin?! Sweeter than the common spud and packed full of vitamins as well as antioxidants, it’s no wonder it is classed by many as a ‘super food’. That’s why this week we are giving you 4 easy yet tasty ways to create every meal of the day using this glorious vegetable.
1) Breakfast: Sweet potato pancakes.
Super simple to make as you only need 2 ingredients! (Personally, I add a pinch of cinnamon to add that extra bit of flavour.)
Ingredients:
1 roasted sweet potato
2 eggs
oil
(cinnamon)
Firstly roast the potato in the oven for 25-30 minutes then let it cool before peeling. After peeling mash it with the 2 eggs in a bowl (add the cinnamon if desired).
Then turn on the hob, you want your hob to be a medium-high heat and add some oil or butter to a frying pan and place it on the hob.
Now spoon out enough of the batter for the size of pancake you require and make sure it isn’t too thick. Cook for 3-5 minutes on one side, then turn it over.
The trick with sweet potato pancakes is to make sure they are cooked through before you flip them, otherwise they could fall apart.
The perfect breakfast for any day of the week!
2) Lunch: Sweet potato and caramelised onion soup.
Unfortunately this recipe needs a blender, but what Bristol university house doesn’t have a trusty Nutribullet stashed away somewhere?!
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of butter
3 sweet potatoes, chopped
1 and a half onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 vegetable stock cube mixed into 500ml of boiling water.
Add some butter and the garlic to a saucepan and allow to simmer, add the onions and cook until soft.
Then add the chopped sweet potato and cook for 4-5 minutes, after approximately 5 minutes add the vegetable stock and bring it to the boil. After bringing it to the boil turn the heat down and let the vegetables simmer until they are tender (approximately 20 minutes).
Then using your blender blend the soup until a smooth consistency, eat it straight away so its still piping hot or store it in the fridge for another day.
An easier, quicker way to make your soup is to put your sweet potato, onion and garlic in the microwave with a little of the stock and cook until the veggies are soft. Then add this and the rest of the stock to your blender and blend!
3) Snack: Sweet potato hummus.
Ingredients
1 medium sweet potato (roasted and mashed without skin)
1 tin of chickpeas
A clove of garlic
Tablespoon of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of tahini
Teaspoon of paprika
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Open the can of chickpeas and put them in a bowl with the garlic and microwave for one minute. Drain the liquid from the chickpeas ( keep it! You might need to add it later).
Now add the lemon juice, tahini, paprika and olive oil to the chickpeas and with a stick hand blender blend all the ingredients together until you get a smooth paste. Add more lemon juice or oil if it is too thick, or some of that leftover water from the chickpeas.
Add the mashed sweet potato and mix throughly with a spoon to get a paste consistency or if you prefer a smoother hummus blend with the stick blender again (if the mixture is too thick add more of the chickpea water).
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Yum!!
Ta dah! Serve with pitta or tortilla chips for a tasty, healthy snack.
This will keep in the fridge for a couple of days … if there’s any left!
4) Dinner: sweet potato fries.
Probably my favourite way to cook sweet potato and with minimal prep time these are always a winner. Add a tuna steak or a burger to these delicious fries to take your meal to the next level!
Ingredients:
1 Sweet potato
salt & pepper
Herb seasoning
Oil
Firstly turn the oven on to around 180 degrees. All you have to do to make delicious fries is chop the sweet potato into chip shape pieces, cover them with oil (personally I use the 1 calorie olive oil spray which means you can use as much as you want guilt free!).
Then season the fries, firstly with the salt and pepper and then with some herbs. The classic green herb mixes you can buy in any local supermarket are perfect but rosemary also works really well. Then put them in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until they start to crisp. Take out and either eat them as a snack or add them to your meal!
The best of the best
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