Sweet Potatoes & Vegetables.
Not every dinner has to be so complicated -- not that I want to imply that my previous posts required any sort of super-human commitment. But as much as I love to cook, even I can admit that once in a while, I don't feel like standing in the kitchen for more than a half hour. This meal took me even less time to prepare, and didn't even require that I hover over the stove to monitor the entire cooking process. So here's my Friday gift to you: a really easy, yet satisfying, dinner. As I said in a previous post, the joy of vegan cooking, for me, is about discovering how food really tastes -- without chemical preservatives and added sugars. I give you nature's candy: The Sweet Potato. And yes, in my world, you can have candy for dinner.
I started by scrubbing the dirt off of two medium-large sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are an AWESOME source of vitamins A and C -- their high beta-carotine content makes them powerful antioxidants, and for athletes (or even the casual gym-goer), sweet potatoes also have anti-inflammatory properties.But DON'T THROW AWAY THE SKINS*. A significant amount of the sweet potato's beta-carotine is hiding in there.
*If you really, really don't like to eat your potatoes in the skins, wash the potatoes anyway. Peel them, but try to peel in long strips. The peels can then be boiled on their own until tender. Simply pat them dry, place them on a lined baking sheet, and drizzle/brush LIGHTLY with olive oil (I recommend putting a little dab of oil on your fingertip and stroking each peel -- it won't take much oil); add your desired seasoning (salt & pepper, of course -- for a spicy flair, I like to add a little smoked paprika, and/or cayenne; for those who tend toward savory herbs, I recommend fresh rosemary or dill). Pop them in the oven at 425 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, until crispy. You can enjoy them on their own, or with the humus/guacamole you made. I also like mine dipped in spicy mustard.
I cut my sweet potatoes into chunks and boiled them with about a teaspoon of salt until they reached my desired tenderness. I quickly chopped one leek, and the remainder of the broccoli* (from tofu/broccoli night), and a tablespoon of fresh ginger, and put everything in my favorite non-stick skillet with a few grinds of fresh black pepper. I waited until the potatoes were almost done, then started the vegetables (heat-level: medium); just before the close, I threw in two teaspoons of capers and a generous handful of fresh, roughly-chopped parsley. I, personally, wanted for my broccoli to be pretty crunchy (as a point of contrast to the soft potatoes) -- but if you want yours to be softer, cover the skillet, turn down the heat, and be patient.
*Even the main, thick broccoli stem is edible -- and, like the potato skins, you should eat it. I ran over mine once with a peeler, then chopped the whole stem into bite-sized pieces.
And... ta da! I know -- where are steps 5-ininity? I said this one was easy. I served my potatoes and vegetables with the leftover tzatziki sauce from falafel night (natural soy yoghurt, a squeeze of lemon juice/a bit of lemon zest, and a little fresh parsley) -- but the soy yoghurt alone, margarine, or a drizzle of olive oil would also be nice alternatives.
In fact, I was so excited about how astonishingly little time this meal took to prepare that I even forgot to photo-document the end product. Here's a leftover cooked sweet potato, looking less-than-thrilled about having to do this alone.
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