Sweet Potatoes

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fall

Unlike most of the vegetables we’re talking about, when you get your sweet potatoes, you don’t need to remove any soil your find on their skin. This soil aids in their curing and storing process. They are perfectly fine with dirt on them until you are prepared to cook them. Just wash them when you’re ready to cook. They’ll store best (unlike many other things) in a sunny, hot and dry location (such as a screened in porch or in the window sill of a sunny window). Be gentle, any bruising will lead to soft spots latter on. By leaving them in the sun, you’re actually help cure the sweet potatoes and they’ll keep longer. A well-cured sweet potato will keep for MONTHS. Once they’ve been in the sun for about two weeks, move them to a cooler location and then bake them up as needed.

(2023) Fennel Rubbed Pork Chops with Apple, Kale and Sweet Potato

Tomorrow night I’m going to make the pork chop recipe below because I deserve a nice dinner. And it will use up a number of things from the box. I’m not sure what I will do with those cucumbers. I truly feel as if I am cucumber-ed up this year and I love cucumbers. I’ll probably share with my neighbors. The apples will keep, the okra will get pan-fried to go with the pork chops, and the peppers will go into the refrigerator to come out when I return. My husband is a huge fan of pimento cheese, he may get a big batch next week.

The recipe calls for kale, but I’m going to make this with what I think is our bunch of turnip greens. And substitute our big white sweet potato for the two medium ones called for here.

(2022) Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos

Sweet potatoes in the box remind me we have lots and lots of sweet potato recipes at grassfedcow.com but I’m adding one more. Down below you’ll find Alexandra Stoddard’s recipe for Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos. Delicious filling and a way to use some of that beautiful lettuce as well.

(2021) Sweet Potato Burrito

Yes, there was that sweet potato – rivaling in size the watermelons of summer. Huge! What to do with it? In our house, the answer is, divide it up. I cut mine into thirds. One third went into sweet potato burritos (recipe below). One third will get cubed and roasted with sweet spices for another dinner, and the last third is going into this African Chickpea Soup because cooler temperatures are coming, right?

Adapted from Alexandracooks.com

(2021) Sweet Potato Ideas

I know I spend a lot of time saying, “I don’t remember ….” but I truly don’t remember a year when the watermelon season has been so long. It’s been wonderful for me since watermelon is by far my favorite melon, but I know not everyone feels the same way. Did I mention freezing some of the watermelon and then pureeing with a bottle of rosé? Instant frosé!

And of course we have about a dozen recipes including watermelon curry on grassfedcow.com.

I hear that some boxes included delicata squash, but in our box we received a HUGE sweet potato. In this case, “I remember” last year’s first arrivals of sweet potatoes also being similarly huge. I’m excited and know that apples are not far behind. September is just around the corner!

With apologies to Georgia, I share a message I received from the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission. So many interesting ideas! (For some reason, North Carolina thinks “sweet potato” is all one word ….)

(2020) Tin Drum Asian Kitchen’s Spring Roll Lettuce Wrap with Chili Lime Vinaigrette

Except for the lettuce leaves and spring rolls, all the other quantities are suggested and can be modified to your household’s taste. Want to try these with basil leaves? Add some slivered mango or apple? All delicious. Crispy fried shallots are available at Asian markets, or you may want to try your hand at making your own. They’re just very thinly fried shallots, deep fried in canola oil until crisp.

(2020) Roasted Sweet Potato and Delicata Squash with Cranberry Agrodolce

You’ve probably got your Thanksgiving menu planned, but if not, here’s a recipe I saw in Epicurious today. I have two delicata still sitting, so I’m making this for Thanksgiving here (definitely cutting this recipe way, way down for our downsized dinner). The tart of the cranberries with the bite of red wine vinegar and the sweetness of sugar – this sounds like a dish that’s right up my alley. If there’s no delicata squash left at your house, butternut would work great.

(2020) Candied Sweet Potatoes

Here’s my favorite sweet recipe, courtesy of a PeachDish recipe adapted from April McGreger’s Savor the South. Though PeachDish, the prepared meal service, is gone, I’m grateful to have their simple recipe cards still in hand!

(2019) Sweet Potato Salad

Looks like the box also held the first sweet potato of the season. And a white sweet potato at that. There recipes posted at https://grassfedcow.com/ingredient/sweet-potatoes/ that might be appealing. I thought I had shared a recipe for a cold sweet potato salad with curry seasoning, but I’m not seeing it there. I’ll have to find it when I get home. In the meantime, here’s a salad to consider – it combines sweet potatoes and red potatoes. The quantities of potatoes don’t matter. And the dressing is really good.

(2018) Autumn Vegetable Potage

I’ve shared this recipe before but it’s worth repeating. Save it for when next week’s box when there will surely be a bundle of greens of some sort.

Demonstrated by Virginia Willis at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market. As she says, feel free to substitute with what’s in season and in your box. And she recommends the two pots specified here to keep the greens crisp..

(2018) Sweet Potato Green Onion Cakes

And finally a recipe from Southern Living. I’m seeing such pretty green onions at the markets that I’m looking for all kinds of ways to use them. They call for microwaving the potato – which is quick. But you could absolutely roast it, just not to melting since you want to be able to grate the potatoes. Just roast until barely tender.

(2018) Sweet Potatoes with Mirin and Honey

There are about a dozen sweet potato recipes at https://grassfedcow.com/ingredient/sweet-potatoes/, and you can adapt them if you like. I’m thinking about that pork, sweet potato and apple saute since maybe, just maybe, we’re going to have a little cooler weather and hallelujah, a few rain drops.

If you want to push them to the sweet side, try this recipe from Bon Appetit. No mirin? Try sherry or even port instead.

(2018) Sweet Potato Bacon Pancakes

I’m hoping yesterday’s was the first of many sweet potatoes.. They are my favorite vegetable of fall. So versatile. Bake them whole. Roast them in pieces. Saute them with apples and sausage. Bake them and then use the puree in any number of recipes, like the one below from Prevention magazine. I give it to you because a certain coffee chain has just started serving its pumpkin spice lattes. Are they rushing the season? Well, pumpkins (and sweet potato) and spice are certainly a winning combination so who’s to say we can’t enjoy it in August?

(2017) Cheese-Free Sweet Potato Quesadillas

If you’re ready for a savory take on sweet potatoes, try this recipe from seriouseats.com. I’m making it next weekend for a dinner party, serving with a curried soup. Probably will heat up in a dry skillet rather than with the oil as suggested here.

(2017) Scalloped Sweet Potatoes

Totally decadent, but a great way to use the giant sweet potato (at least mine was) in today’s box. From chow.com which adapted it from Southern Living. If yours was as big as mine, cut the potato into quarters before slicing. You want pieces that will fit in a muffin cup. Pretty individual servings. Fancy!

(2017) Sweet Potato and Greens Stir Fry

This is adapted from another recipe from Paolo. She used bok choy in her recipe, and we’ve adapted it for what’s in today’s box. I haven’t tried all the peppers to see if any are slightly hot. Maybe you still have a jalapeno from weeks past?

(2017) African Chick Pea Soup

If you don’t want to just roast that sweet potato and devour it whole, try this recipe from Southern Living. And save the idea of making sweet potato broth for other dishes you’ll fix this year.

Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Heat the oven to 375°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet with foil, place the sweet potatoes on it, and bake until knife-tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and set it aside until the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle Read More…

Sweet Potato Latkes

Hanukkah and Thanksgiving fall within sweet potato season. Celebrate both with sweet potato latkes.

Sweet Potato Apple Dog Treats

Finally a treat for your favorite pup. This makes a great hostess gift over the holidays if you’re visiting someone who loves their dog/s. If you don’t have pastry flour, regular whole wheat will do.

Ideas for Fall Produce

Each week I put together a collection of recipe ideas for what’s arrived in our beautiful Riverview boxes, but you know, sometimes you just don’t have the time or inclination to follow a recipe. Or maybe you’re in a situation where you don’t have the equipment or ingredients to do anything relatively elaborate. This weekend Read More…

Spicy Sweet Potato Soup with Garlic Rye Croutons

Sweet potatoes! I’m very excited. Sweet potatoes! (Did I already say that?)

Last year I think it was the end of October before we had sweet potatoes in our box. This is truly the vegetable that says “fall” to me. I got home too late tonight to do anything with these beauties, but I’ll be making my traditional start of fall meal tomorrow just in time for the autumnal equinox at 5:05am on Friday morning. (I think I’ve made the calculation about the time right …)

I’ll be sautéing my sweet potatoes with some of those beautiful apples in a little bit of butter, and then adding honey or maple syrup, depending on my mood. This is a fall favorite in my household. Sometimes I add some sausage, sometimes I add some greens …. however it’s fixed we absolutely love it. And the smell of those sweet potatoes cooking tells me fall has arrived.

The complete contrast will be the cold salad of steamed spaghetti squash tossed with olive oil, a little lemon juice and lots of chopped tomatoes, then seasoned with plenty of salt and pepper that I’ll also be making. It’s that time of year when what you want to eat can go in any number of directions.

Just on the chance that more sweet potatoes are in our future (and maybe another cool snap), here’s a soup recipe from “Sara Moulton’s Everyday Family Dinners” (Simon & Schuster, $35). The recipe calls for 4 sweet potatoes, but if your box, like mine, had just 3 sweet potatoes, that will work fine as well. And feel free to substitute a jalapeno or two for the chipotles. Chipotles are just ripened, smoked jalapenos so you’ll still be getting the heat but not the smoky flavor. If you substituted bacon for the Canadian bacon, it would all even out. If you have an immersion blender, this recipe is even easier. Not a fan of rye bread? Just make plain croutons.

Curried Sweet Potato and Mustard Greens Salad

No, we haven’t received our first sweet potatoes yet, but they’re on their way soon. In the meantime, you could make this with the white potatoes that have been part of our recent boxes, or just make the mustard green salad and serve it alone. Demonstrated by Joey Ward of Gunshow at Peachtree Road Farmers Market. Love the yogurt chutney.

Sweet Potato Cottage Pie

I know all these recipes are looking so long …. but is there anything more comforting that shepherd’s pie? This is just a variation of the traditional form – but with sweet potatoes instead of white. The filling is along the lines of a Cuban picadillo with its olives and dried fruit. I love this combination.

Creamy Curried Sweet Potato Soup

Last recipe – a curried sweet potato soup. Yum! This one is adapted from one that appeared in Marion Burros’ “Eating Well” column in the New York Times in 1999. You can substitute butternut squash for the sweet potatoes, and plain yogurt for the goat cheese.

Parsley’s Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Alfredo Sauce

Have you ever made gnocchi? It’s actually pretty easy and lots of fun. It takes a little time, but that’s what the slow food movement is all about. This recipe is from Marc Summers. Parsley’s Catering is based in Kennesaw.

Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

Adapted from a recipe in “The Sweet Potato Lover’s Cookbook” by Lyniece North Talmadge.

Perfect with your leftover mashed sweet potatoes from Thanksgiving, or make it with sweet potatoes prepared especially for this dish. I’ve added rutabagas to the filling. Yum.

Endive Spears with Sweet Potato & Chives

Love this idea I adapted from a recipe in Fine Cooking magazine. You may remember a decade or more of pre-dinner nibbles served in endive leaves . In many years worth of variations, I don’t ever remember seeing one with sweet potatoes – but what a great combination of creamy, sweet sweet potatoes with the slightly bitter endive leaves.

Sweet Potato and Chile Hash with Fried Eggs

This recipe came from Fine Cooking magazine about a decade ago. You can whip up the mayonnaise any time and use it for all kinds of purposes. The recipe looks like it has a lot of ingredients, but adapt it to what’s in the pantry. Do you still have a few jalapenos hanging around? Perfect. No red pepper, leave it out. Cook the eggs anyway you like, although fried eggs would be traditional.

Savory Sweet Potatoes

This idea for sweet potatoes comes from closer to home. Lisa Rochon is a New Orleans-born chef and caterer who has a booth at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market. This recipe is one she demonstrated in November as an alternative to the traditional “sweet” sweet potato side dish. Lisa sells her fine herbes mixture at the market. You can find similar mixes at the store, or you can substitute something else. Fine herbes are traditionally a mixture of parsley, chives, chervil and tarragon.

Balsamic Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Butternut Squash

Finally, this is a recipe we ran in the AJC last year in a story about sweet potatoes. It will work perfectly well with just butternut squash – and it really is good.

This dish is pretty irresistible even for those who expect their sweet potatoes to be sweet. A little honey tips the scale slightly to the sweet side, but the natural sweetness of the butternut squash and sweet potatoes may be all you need.

These savory roasted vegetables combined with crisp arugula could be served as a salad-like first course, or as a side dish with the main meal. And it’s easy to halve or double the recipe, depending on the number of people you’re serving.

To make ahead of time, roast the sweet potatoes and squash a few hours or a day ahead and refrigerate up to 1 day. Heat roasted vegetables in a microwave in 2- to 3-minute intervals until just warmed through, then combine with arugula and dress with balsamic vinegar and olive oil just before serving.

Sweet Potato Fudge Brownies

Make your own sweet potato puree by baking a sweet potato and then pureeing in a processor until completely smooth. This is one of those recipes where the puree substitutes for much of the fat. With the whole-wheat flour, it’s almost healthy! Adapted from a recipe in Whole Living magazine.