Cooks should feel free to switch out the toppings on baked sweet potatoes with comparable alternatives.
MATTHEW MEAD/ASSOCIATED PRESS
View More Images from this story
Visit the Photo Place
|
|
|
By ELIZABETH KARMEL
Associated Press
Much as I love mashed white potatoes, my favorite "potato" is the sweet variety.
I've been cooking and eating sweet potatoes as long as I can remember. And when I found out that they were loaded with vitamins and other good-for-you stuff like fiber, I immediately thought Here's a great excuse to eat sweet potato pie!
Kidding aside, sweet potatoes are just as good if not better than traditional baking potatoes in savory applications. My favorite one-bowl meal in winter is a loaded baked potato. And I often make it with sweet potatoes.
Around 5 p.m., I throw the potatoes in a 350 degrees oven. I find that a lower oven temperature keeps the skin from falling apart, allowing you to split the potato in half and load it up!
However, it does take twice as long for the potatoes to cook.
This year, I have been topping my potato with sauteed kale, which not only looks stunning--all that orange and green--but also is a perfect complement to the sweet "meaty" potato.
But that's not all. I also roast garlic and make it into a paste to flavor the potato, folding in just a touch of butter and a pinch of sage. I scoop out half of the potato, mix it all together, add half the cheese and put it back into the shells like you would a twice-baked potato.
At this point, the recipe can be made in advance and re-heated another day.
Just before serving, you sprinkle on more cheese, add a healthy spoonful of the sauteed kale and, if you like, top with toasted pumpkin seeds for a welcome crunch. If you don't like kale, you can saute spinach instead. And while I have specified fontina and Gruyere for the cheeses, Parmesan, cheddar and mozzarella are great, too.
I generally make this loaded potato a "meatless meal," but you could easily add leftover or rotisserie chicken.
LOADED SWEET POTATOES WITH ROASTED GARLIC
Start to finish: 1 hours (45 minutes active)Makes 8 servings
3 heads garlic Olive oil Kosher salt 4 large sweet potatoes 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature Pinch dried sage 1 large shallot, chopped 1 bunch (about 5 ounces) baby or chopped Tuscan kale cup grated fontina cheese Ground black pepper, to taste to 1 cup shredded white cheddar, Gruyere or mozzarella cheese 3 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds (optional) Roasted chicken (optional)
Directions: 1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. 2. Remove outer layer of papery skin from heads of garlic. 3. Slice off inch from narrow end of each. 4. Place each head of garlic, cut side up, on square of heavy-duty foil; drizzle each with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt. 5. Wrap foil loosely up and over garlic heads, roast for 1 hour, or until golden-brown and soft. Remove and let cool. 6. Meanwhile, prick sweet potatoes with fork, then rub them with oil. 7. Add them to oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until tender. 8. Once garlic has cooled enough to handle, remove cloves from their skins. Most efficient way to do this is to squeeze whole head from bottom. 9. In small food processor, combine garlic, butter, sage and pinch of salt, then pulse until chopped and combined. Set aside. 10. About 15 minutes before potatoes have finished, in medium saute pan over medium-high, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. 11. Add shallot and saute until soft, about 4 minutes. Add kale, and saute for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until tender. Set aside. 12. When potatoes have finished baking, remove from oven and let cool until easy to touch. Leave oven on. 13. Cut potatoes lengthwise down middle and scoop out about half of the flesh from each, making sure to keep a thick layer of sweet potato within skin so that it can stand on its own. 14. In a bowl, mash sweet potato, roasted garlic mixture and fontina cheese. 15. Season with salt and pepper. 16. Divide filling between each potato, spooning it into shell of each. 17. Top with your choice of shredded cheese and hot sauteed kale. 18. Arrange potatoes on baking sheet and return to oven until hot, about 15 minutes. (They also can be microwaved for 2 minutes.) 19. Serve hot, garnished with pumpkin seeds and chicken, if desired.
Nutritional information per serving (not including optional chicken and pumpkin seeds): 230 calories; 120 calories from fat (52 percent of total calories); 13 g fat (6 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 30 mg cholesterol; 20 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 5 g sugar; 8 g protein; 270 mg sodium
|
