Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

As an intro to family and friends who may not follow a vegetarian diet (our family doesn’t but we do include a number of plant-based meals through the week) this is a delicious fiber-rich, nutrient-rich, Vit A and C rich dish to make for lunch or dinner! This is such a versatile recipe – swap out the beans you prefer if chickpeas aren’t your fav’s, add some tamari and sweet chilli sauce instead of the tomatoes and salsa – variations after the recipe below.

Serve with a salad for a complete, filling and very satisfying meal – may I suggest one of my favourite salads ever – Meghan Telpner’s Kale Salad.

Prep time: 15 minutes / Cook Time: 40 minutes / Number of Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

• 4 Medium Sweet Potatoes - scrubbed, cut in half lengthwise so you have two long halves

• 3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (alternates – Grapeseed, Coconut Oil)

• 1 Onion – chopped

• 3 Cloves Garlic – sliced

• 2 Red Peppers – seeded and sliced thin

• 5 cups Cooked Beans ( a total of 3 15-ounce can, drained – I use 2 Chickpea and 1 Mixed Bean)

• 1½ cups Diced Tomatoes – with their juice

• ½ cup Ground Tomatoes (Passata)

• 3/4 cup Salsa (I use chunky Medium heat)

• 1 teaspoon Dried Basil

• 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano

• 1 teaspoon Dried Parsley

• 1 teaspoon Dried Bouillon Mix (Optional I make my own and find it adds a lovely flavour.)

• Salt and Pepper to taste

• 3 cups Cremini Mushrooms – sliced (Optional – but delicious!)

• 2 Tablespoons Butter (Vegan alternate: Olive Oil)

• Tahini – for garnish (Optional)

• Sesame seeds – for garnish (Optional)

How it’s Made

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

• Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

• Scrub the sweet potatoes and slice them in half vertically - so you have two long sweet potato halves.

• Brush the flesh side of the sweet potatoes with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and season with pepper and a bit of salt.

• Bake the sweet potatoes, flesh side down, until they are soft when squeezed or poked with a fork - about 25 minutes.

• While the sweet potatoes are baking, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add in the onions and let them cook for a couple of minutes until they are translucent.

• Add the garlic and the peppers and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the garlic becomes fragrant. Stir often so it doesn’t burn.

• Add in the beans. Stir.

• Add in the diced tomatoes, the passata and the salsa. Stir.

• Add in the spices and season with pepper and salt to your taste – not too much as you will be tasting and correcting when it’s cooked. Stir.

• Allow this mixture to simmer over medium-low heat to allow the beans to soften and absorb the flavours. If the mixture becomes dry, add in ¼ cup water at a time and stir to combine.

• Before serving, taste to adjust the salt and pepper.

• Mushrooms – if you are including these, in a medium frying pan, heat the butter (or olive oil) and when bubbling (or the olive oil is hot), add the sliced mushrooms in. Stir to sauté until they release their liquid and become a toasted brown. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste and any spice you might like – thyme is very nice, or leave plain with just the salt and pepper – also delicious! Keep warm on low heat until ready to serve.

• After 25 minutes in the oven, check the sweet potatoes by very gently squeezing one with an oven mitt – it should be soft and squishy. Or test by piercing the skin with a fork – it should easily go through. Once they are cooked, remove them from the oven and taking a half sweet potato in your oven mitted hand, scrape the flesh so it’s soft and fluffy. Make a slight indent into the flesh to hold some of the bean mixture stuffing.

• Put the prepared sweet potato half on your serving plate, top with a generous, overflowing amount of the bean stuffing and top with the mushrooms (or top the salad with the mushrooms as in the photos). Dollop tahini on top and sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional).

Enjoy!

Variations:

• Use 2 cans of white beans and 1 can of black beans instead of the chickpea and mixed beans, or any bean combination of your liking.

• Grate a carrot into the mix when adding the diced tomato to sneak some extra veg into the dish.

• Instead of the tomato-based sauce, add ¼ cup soy sauce or Tamari, ½ cup sweet chilli sauce and a dash of Worcestershire.

• Instead of the Basil, Oregano and Parsley, add ½ teaspoon each ground cumin, ground ginger, ground rosemary and ground sage.

• Other topping suggestions: Cashew Cheese Sauce (recipe coming soon), Sliced green onions, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sprouts.