Celebrate The Power of The U.S Sweet Potato
This International Sweet Potato Week, 21st – 31st March
TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST
We all know plant-based eating is top of the agenda right now – in the UK almost 30% of shoppers have reduced their meat intake over the past year , and the number of people identifying as vegan has increased by 350% compared to a decade ago .
Why are so many people choosing to cut down on meat and up their plant intake? For one, plant-based foods are generally rich sources of many nutrients that are important for good health, including unsaturated fats, vitamins, minerals, fibre and protein. It’s no wonder the nutrient-packed U.S. sweet potato is so popular right now!
So, what exactly is in a sweet potato? Vitamin A – which is essential for good health and promotes growth; Vitamin C – needed for the growth and repair of tissues in your body; manganese – vital for keeping your brain and nerves in tip top condition; copper – which helps your body to make red blood cells; as well as potassium and fibre. Delicious AND good for you? What’s not to love!
Many plant-based recipes can include hard-to-find, inaccessible ingredients – but the American Sweet Potato Marketing Institute is here to tell you, you don’t need to spend hours (and £££) trying to track down agar agar, nutritional yeast and seitan. U.S. sweet potatoes make the ideal base for any plant-based meal!
Here are five super simple ways to munch on American sweet potatoes from breakfast right through to dinner, and see you through International Sweet Potato Week in style:
1. Go meat free – it’s not just for Mondays guys!
U.S sweet potatoes are a tasty replacement in a whole host of recipes that traditionally contain meat – try adding roasted chunks of sweet potato to curries and stir frys, add to stews, soups and casseroles, or try in a veggie chilli – you won’t be disappointed.
2. Pancake party anyone?
American Sweet potatoes are a delicious addition to waffles and pancakes – simply bake, peel, puree and add to your batter. Perfect with sweet or savoury toppings, try piling on sliced avo and roasted vine tomatoes, spooning over mixed berries, or add a poached egg for a breakfast to impress.
3. Spiralize those spuds
Try swaghetti with your regular bolognese for a tasty twist, create some swaglietelle and mix in halved cherry tomatoes, spinach and pesto for a quick mid-week meal, or whip up a batch of spoodles for a warming “noodle” soup.
4. Swap your regular old white potatoes for these stunners
Baked, mashed, wedges, chips, fries – make your potatoey side pack a nutritional (and flavour!) punch with this couldn’t-be-easier swap.
5. Get your bake on
With a sweet, satisfying flavour, and super squidgy texture, U.S. sweet potatoes are ideal for baking – add to brownies for an extra gooey bite, use in cupcakes, or rustle up a traditional sweet potato pie.
American sweet potatoes boast a whole host of benefits – packed with flavour and nutrients, look out for U.S. sweet potato varieties such as Covington in the shops for a sensational sweet potato experience.
For more recipe inspiration, head to sweetpotatoes.eu/en today.
International Sweet Potato Week is taking place from the 21st – 31st March 2018. It is an exciting initiative from the American Sweet Potato Marketing Institute and aims to inspire everyone to get creative in the kitchen and celebrate all things sweet potato.
Sweet Potato, Feta and Chanterelle Salad ………………..……………………………………………….…….…
Serves: 4
Prep time: 30 mins
You’ll need:
4 large US sweet potatoes
8 tbsp. olive oil
1 lime, juiced and zested
Salt and pepper
200g chanterelle mushrooms
4 spring onions
30g pine nuts
1 large handful of rocket, washed
80g dried cranberries
175 g feta cheese, broken into chunks
4 tbsp. sweet mustard
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Peel the sweet potatoes, cut into quarters, and slice. Mix the sweet potato slices with 2 tbsp. of the olive oil, lime zest, salt, and pepper and place on a lined baking tray – bake for 20 mins.
2. Meanwhile, wash the chanterelles and cut into halves. Slice the spring onions into rings. Heat 1tbsp. of the oil in a pan and fry mushrooms and spring onions gently, then add the pine nuts and fry fir a further minute, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. For the dressing, mix the mustard with the lime juice and remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Serve the sweet potato slices topped with the mushrooms mix, then scatter the feta and cranberries over. Drizzle the dressing on top to serve.
Nutritional value per salad:
Energy: 1012.3 kcal / 4161.5 kj
Carbohydrates: 142.5 g
Protein: 20.5 g
Fat: 36.2 g
Three Sweet Potato Toast Varieties
………………..……………………………………………….…….…
Smoked Salmon and Egg Sweet Potato Toast
Makes: 8 slices
Prep time: 15 mins
You’ll need:
2 large US sweet potatoes
For the salmon topping:
4 eggs
200g sour cream
1-2 tbsp. horseradish, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Small handful of chives, chopped
Paprika
400g smoked salmon, in slices
1 lime
Method:
1. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 1cm thick slices (4 slices per potato). Toast the sweet potato slices for 5 minutes until soft (you can use a traditional toaster, or sandwich maker).
2. Meanwhile, boil the eggs until soft, for around 7 minutes. Wash in cold water and peel, then chop beach egg in half.
3. Mix the sour cream, horseradish, chives, salt, and pepper.
4. Season the sweet potato toasts with sea salt and the paprika, spread the horseradish mix on top, and garnish with the salmon and half an egg each. Serve with a slice of lime.
Nutritional value per slice:
Energy: 200.25 kcal / 830.75 kj
Carbohydrates: 1.4 g
Protein: 4.5 g
Fat: 18.43 g
Three Sweet Potato Toast Varieties
………………..……………………………………………….…….…
Raspberry and Mint Sweet Potato Toast
Makes: 8 slices
Prep time: 10 mins
You’ll need:
2 large US sweet potatoes
For the raspberry topping:
200g low fat cottage cheese
40g caster sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
250g raspberries
Small bunch of mint, leaves picked
Method:
1. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 1cm thick slices (4 slices per potato). Toast the sweet potato slices for 5 minutes until soft (you can use a traditional toaster, or sandwich maker).
2. Whisk the cottage cheese with the sugar and cinnamon. Leaving 8 raspberries aside for decoration, squash the rest with a fork and mix with the cottage cheese. Spread the raspberry topping over the toast slices and garnish with the remaining raspberries and mint leaves.
Nutritional value per slice:
Energy: 54 kcal / 56.3 kj
Carbohydrates: 7.4 g
Protein: 3.1 g
Fat: 1.2 g
Three Sweet Potato Toast Varieties
………………..……………………………………………….…….…
Mozzarella, Mango and Pesto Sweet Potato Toast
Makes: 8 slices
Prep time: 10 mins
You’ll need:
2 large US sweet potatoes
For the topping:
1 ball of mozzarella
1 ripe mango
4 tbsp. green pesto
Small bunch of basil, leaves picked
Method:
1. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 1cm thick slices (4 slices per potato). Toast the sweet potato slices for 5 minutes until soft (you can use a traditional toaster, or sandwich maker).
2. Peel and slice the mango and tear the mozzarella into pieces. Place the mango slices and mozzarella onto the sweet potato toast and spread each with pesto. Garnish with the basil leaves.
Nutritional value per serving:
Energy: 125 kcal / 518 kj
Carbohydrates: 27 g
Protein: 1.8 g
Fat: 0.6 g
Sweet Potato Noodle Bowl
………………..……………………………………………….…….…
Serves: 4
Prep time: 25 mins
You’ll need:
4 large US sweet potatoes
1 garlic clove
20g of fresh ginger
1 small onion
1 red chilli
150g snow peas (mangetout)
200g cherry tomatoes
200g baby corn
1 tbsp. olive oil
100g frozen peas
1 tsp. curry powder
300ml coconut milk
200ml vegetable stock
4 spring onions
Salt and pepper, to taste
Small bunch thai basil, leaves picked
Method:
1. Peel and spiralize the sweet potatoes to make the noodles. Next, peel the garlic, ginger, and onion and chop finely. Slice the chilli into rings and cut the snow peas and tomatoes into halves. Cut the baby corn and spring onion into slices.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the ginger, chilli, onion and garlic, then add the curry powder and fry off for a couple of minutes. Add the coconut milk and stock and slowly reduce the liquid.
3. Add the sweet potato noodles, snow peas, cherry tomatoes, peas and corn and let simmer for 3-4 mins. Stir in the spring onions and season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with the thai basil to serve.
Nutritional facts per serving:
Energy: 615 kcal / 2551.7 kj
Carbohydrates: 121.9 g
Protein: 13.4 g
Fat: 6.4 g
Sweet Potato Burger with Avo Cream ………………..……………………………………………….…….…
Serves: 4
Prep time: 35 mins
You’ll need:
For the burgers:
500g US sweet potatoes
240g can of black beans
2 tbsp. olive oil
½ red pepper, finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
1 tsp. cumin
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
5-6 tbsp. white bread crumbs
Salt and pepper, to taste
For the avo cream:
1 avocado
1-2 tsp. lime juice
1 garlic clove
Salt and pepper, to taste
Handful of coriander
To serve:
2 beef tomatoes
4 bread rolls
2 tbsp. mayo
4 lettuce leaves
2 tbsp. jalapeños
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Peel the sweet potatoes, cut into chunks, spread onto a baking tray and bake for around 20 mins, or until tender. Rinse the black beans with cold water and leave to drain, then purée in a food processor along with the cooked sweet potatoe, then set aside in a large bowl.
2. Next, lightly fry the diced pepper and onion in a pan with 1 tbsp. of the olive oil, adding the cumin and cayenne pepper towards the end. Add to the sweet potato and bean purée, along with the breadcrumbs. Mix well and add salt and pepper to taste, then set aside for at least 30 mins to thicken.
3. Skin and stone the avocado and blend with the lime juice in a food processor. Peel and crush the garlic and stir in, then season with salt and pepper. Pick the coriander leaves from the stems, chop finely and stir in to the avo cream.
4. Heat the remaining oil in a pan. Shape 4 patties from the sweet potato mix and fry on each side for 2 mins until golden brown.
5. To serve, thickly slice the tomatoes. Slice the jalapeños and mix with the mayo. Cut the bread rolls in half, toast, and spread the bottom half with the jalapeño mayo. Garnish with the lettuce and tomatoes, and add a sweet potato patty. Top with a blob of avo cream and place the other half face down on top.
Nutritional value per serving:
Energy: 532 kcal / 207.5 kj
Carbohydrates: 79.5 g
Protein: 13,1 g
Fat: 16,3 g
Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Blueberry Frosting ………………..……………………………………………….…….…
Makes: 12 cupcakes
Prep time: 35 mins (plus cooling time)
You’ll need:
For the cupcakes:
400g US sweet potatoes
200g butter
3 eggs
100g caster sugar
100g brown sugar
10g vanilla sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2tsp baking powder
230g plain flour
For the frosting:
100g butter, room temperature
200g cream cheese, room temperature
100g icing sugar
50g blueberry jam
Handful of fresh blueberries for decoration
Method:
1. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into medium-sized chunks, place into a large pan, cover with water and boil until tender – for around 10-12 mins. Blend in a food processor until smooth and leave aside to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C, then fill the holes of a cupcake or muffin tin with cupcake cases.
3. Next, melt the butter, allow to cool slightly, then whisk together with the eggs. Add the sugar and cinnamon, continuing to whisk the mixture, then stir in the cooled sweet potato puree.
4. In a separate bowl mix the baking powder and flour together, then add this to the cake mixture, stirring until fully combined. Pour the mixture into the cases and bake in the oven for 18 minutes. Once cooked, place on a rack to cool.
5. While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. Whisk the butter, powdered sugar, cream cheese and blueberry jam together until smooth. Pour the frosting into a piping bag and ice the top of each cupcake. Decorate with the fresh blueberries and chill for at least two hours before serving.
Nutritional value per serving:
Energy: 645.3 kcal / 1930.5 kj
Carbohydrates: 45.7 g
Protein: 5.5 g
Fat: 27.5 g
Speedy Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
………………..……………………………………………….…….…
Serves: 4
Prep time: 20 mins
You’ll need:
4 large US sweet potatoes
250g asparagus
1 garlic clove
100g cherry tomatoes
50g walnuts
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 large handful of rocket
Salt and pepper, to taste
125g mozzarella
Method:
1. Wash the sweet potatoes thoroughly, prick several times with a fork and microwave on high until soft, turning multiple times.
2. While the sweet potatoes are cooking, slice the asparagus lengthways and cut in half, then peel and finely chop the garlic, cut the tomatoes in half and coarsely chop the walnuts.
3. Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the asparagus for 2 minutes, then add the garlic, tomatoes, and walnuts and stir over a medium heat for a few minutes. When cooked through add the rocket leaves to the pan.
4. Cut the cooked sweet potatoes in half and scoop out some of the potato, then mix this with the asparagus filling and season with salt and pepper. Stuff the sweet potatoes generously with the asparagus mix, then cut mozzarella into small pieces and sprinkle on top. Microwave for another 2 to 3 minutes and serve.
Nutritional values per serving:
Energy: 678.5 kcal / 2815 KJ
Carbohydrates: 123.7 g
Protein: 11.2 g
Fat: 13.4 g
