Southwest Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (Vegetarian)
On the new blog, I hope to do a Meatless Monday at least twice a month, emphasizing seasonal, garden-ready ingredients. This is a trial run on a recipe from tonight. We were able to find a four pack of fresh corn at Walmart this week, which was unusual. You could, of course, substitute canned corn, but fresh gets that chewy, sweetness when grilled.
As for the recipe, imagine fire-kissed salsa spooned over a creamy jacketed potato and then topped with a cooling dollop of citrus-laced cream...that's pretty much dinner. Oh, and it came together in about twenty minutes. Sorry, I don't have a picture to share yet. Two enthusiastic thumbs up from Darryl. He informed me that if all meatless recipes were like this, he would gladly become a vegetarian. The proportions are off and we have leftover salsa and cream, but my suspicions are that neither will go to waste. :)
Sweet Potatoes
3 medium sweet potatoes
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp chipotle powder (adjust to taste)
Fire Roasted Salsa
4 ears fresh corn
1 1/2 large tomatoes, thickly sliced
1/2 sweet yellow onion, sliced
1 large poblano pepper, divided
1/2 can seasoned black beans
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp cumin
Additional salt and pepper, to taste
Avocado Cream
1 medium avocado, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup sour cream
Juice of 1 fresh lime
2 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped
Preheat grill to high heat.
For Potatoes: Clean sweet potatoes and prick each with a fork. Place on microwave safe dish and cook in microwave for 7-10 minutes or until potato pierces easily. Scoop interior of sweet potato into a bowl, leaving outer jacket of potato intact. Mix in softened cream cheese and desired amount of chipotle, just as you would if you were making mashed potatoes. Scoop mixture back into potato jackets and set aside.
For Salsa: While potatoes are cooking, grill corn until kernels begin to take on a slight char, turning occasionally. Remove corn from heat and place tomatoes, onion and poblano on a prepared grill grate and cook until they begin to color. This will only take a few minutes. Remove tomatoes and onions and place them in a small bowl. Remove poblano from grill and place in a plastic Ziploc bag and seal. This will help to steam the pepper and make the skin easier to remove. While pepper is steaming, briefly process tomatoes and onions in a food processor until desired salsa consistency. Carefully cut the kernels from each corn cob and add kernels into salsa. Once the poblano is steamed and skin removed, mince and add to the salsa mixture, along with the black beans, garlic salt and cumin. Mix by hand until all components are evenly distributed and set aside. Season as desired.
For Avocado Cream: Combine remaining ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
To Assemble: Spoon generous amount of salsa over completed potatoes and top with cream.
As for the recipe, imagine fire-kissed salsa spooned over a creamy jacketed potato and then topped with a cooling dollop of citrus-laced cream...that's pretty much dinner. Oh, and it came together in about twenty minutes. Sorry, I don't have a picture to share yet. Two enthusiastic thumbs up from Darryl. He informed me that if all meatless recipes were like this, he would gladly become a vegetarian. The proportions are off and we have leftover salsa and cream, but my suspicions are that neither will go to waste. :)
Sweet Potatoes
3 medium sweet potatoes
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp chipotle powder (adjust to taste)
Fire Roasted Salsa
4 ears fresh corn
1 1/2 large tomatoes, thickly sliced
1/2 sweet yellow onion, sliced
1 large poblano pepper, divided
1/2 can seasoned black beans
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp cumin
Additional salt and pepper, to taste
Avocado Cream
1 medium avocado, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup sour cream
Juice of 1 fresh lime
2 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped
Preheat grill to high heat.
For Potatoes: Clean sweet potatoes and prick each with a fork. Place on microwave safe dish and cook in microwave for 7-10 minutes or until potato pierces easily. Scoop interior of sweet potato into a bowl, leaving outer jacket of potato intact. Mix in softened cream cheese and desired amount of chipotle, just as you would if you were making mashed potatoes. Scoop mixture back into potato jackets and set aside.
For Salsa: While potatoes are cooking, grill corn until kernels begin to take on a slight char, turning occasionally. Remove corn from heat and place tomatoes, onion and poblano on a prepared grill grate and cook until they begin to color. This will only take a few minutes. Remove tomatoes and onions and place them in a small bowl. Remove poblano from grill and place in a plastic Ziploc bag and seal. This will help to steam the pepper and make the skin easier to remove. While pepper is steaming, briefly process tomatoes and onions in a food processor until desired salsa consistency. Carefully cut the kernels from each corn cob and add kernels into salsa. Once the poblano is steamed and skin removed, mince and add to the salsa mixture, along with the black beans, garlic salt and cumin. Mix by hand until all components are evenly distributed and set aside. Season as desired.
For Avocado Cream: Combine remaining ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
To Assemble: Spoon generous amount of salsa over completed potatoes and top with cream.