If healthiness and deliciousness had a baby, they would call it Sweet Potato.
You’re having a hard time backing this unprecedented baby name?? Well, if Gwyneth and Chris can procreate and spawn an “Apple”, I beseech you to give my darling “Sweet Potato” another appraisal.
On another note, as I was writing this, for the very first time, I realized that the aforementioned couple’s daughter’s full name has worked itself out to be Apple Martin. Huh. One vowel short of a delicious, fruity, cocktail. Well, she’s in for a world of teasing and torment. Or awe. Yes, perhaps the latter.
But enough about Granny Smith Paltrow, let’s get back to the culinary world’s newest starlet.
These twice-baked sweet potatoes are scooped out and stuffed with yummy tex-mex flavours, topped with grated cheese, and popped under the broiler for a brief stint. They will literally sing a lovely little operetta in your mouth as you, with significant effort, try to control the pace at which you shovel it in.
And when you realize how healthy they are, your soul will actually pirouette in time with your taste buds’ melodic song.
Twice-Baked TEX-MEX Sweet Potatoes
Adapted from Pinch of Yum
Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes
1-1/2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed and patted dry
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp butter
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
3-4 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
1/3 cup plain yogurt (I used fat free)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the sweet potatoes until fork-tender (approx. 60 minutes).
2. While sweet potatoes are baking, place corn in a heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat with no butter or oil. Sprinkle with salt. Do not stir! Let corn roast for several minutes before stirring. Let it roast for a few more minutes before stirring again. Continue this for about 10 minutes, until corn is browned and roasted on the outside. Set aside in a small bowl with the black beans.
3. Saute the onion in the butter and olive oil over medium heat until soft and translucent. Set aside.
4. Remove sweet potatoes from the oven when baked all the way through. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Cut the sweet potatoes in half. Scrape the flesh of the sweet potatoes out, leaving the skins intact. Sometimes leaving a thin layer of potato inside of the skins helps them hold together better.
5. Mix the flesh of the sweet potatoes with the yogurt, chipotle peppers, and salt. You can use a mixer or just a spoon, depending on how soft the potatoes are. When well-mixed, gently stir in the black beans, roasted corn, sauteed onions, and cilantro.
6. Scoop the filling into the skins and top with shredded cheese. Broil for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
As I licked my fork and plate clean, I immediately began planning for the moment when these little babies would reappear in my kitchen, on my plate, and in my heart.
And next time, with an apple martini.