Sweet Potato Recipes

Sweet Potato and Bacon Loaf

As I spent time with families in many of the Pacific Islands, such as Guam and the Chuuk Islands    (formerly Truk Islands), there was always a family food garden at the back of each house. Sweet potatoes were one of the most popular vegetables.  They came to the Pacific Islands and New Zealand from central South America. Sweet potatoes were a major crop long before Europeans visited South America and the Pacific Islands. While the term Yam is often used in the Pacific to describe sweet potatoes,the yam came from Africa and has a very different biological history despite the fact that yams and sweet potatoes look similar.

“Sweet potatoes originated in Central and South America. But archaeologists have found prehistoric remnants of sweet potato in Polynesia from about A.D. 1000 to A.D. 1100, according to radiocarbon dating. They've hypothesized that those ancient samples came from the western coast of South America. Among the clues: One Polynesian word for sweet potato — "kuumala" — resembles "kumara," or "cumal," the words for the vegetable in Quechua, a language spoken by Andean natives.” ( M. Doucleff, NPR article 1/23/2013)

Nutritional Value - Nothing Better

“One medium sweet potato will provide well over 100% of your daily needs for vitamin A, as well as 37% of vitamin C, 16% of vitamin B-6, 10% of pantothenic acid, 15% of potassium and 28% of manganese. You'll also find small amounts of calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, vitamin E, thiamin, riboflavin and folate.

Sweet potatoes are a great source of beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant known to give orange vegetables and fruits their vibrant color, which is converted to vitamin A in the body. Consuming foods rich in beta-carotene may reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer, offer protection against asthma and heart disease, and delay aging and body degeneration.

Keep the skin on! The color of sweet potato skin can vary from white to yellow, purple or brown: but no matter what color it is, make sure you do not peel it off. A sweet potato’s skin contributes significant amounts of fiber, potassium and quercetin.” (Medical News Today - 8/25/2014)

Ingredients

4 cups cooked, mashed, sweet potatoes

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup olive oil

8 peppered-bacon slices

2 cups chopped green peppers

3 cups chopped onions

3 cups thinly sliced cabbage

6 eggs

1/2 cup sweet potato dipping sauce (see next recipe) You can also replace the dipping sauce with a light healthy salad dressing such as Sesame Ginger or Balsamic Vinaigrette.

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Directions

With the ingredients mixed together you can make a meat loaf, or fritters, or both.

Place the olive oil in a pan under medium heat. Cut the bacon into 1/2 inch slices. Brown the bacon until crisp, then add the onions and peppers and saute. 

Combine all the pan contents including the olive oil in a bowl and mix in the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Place the contents in two medium size loaf pans and cover with grated cheese of your preference.

Bake at 300 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes until the cheese is brown.

The loaf is a complete meal. Serve with green beans or mint green peas.

If you would like to make fritters, each fritter will take a 1/2 cup of the mixture. Cook in a lightly oiled pan until each side is well browned. Keep the fritters thin and less than an inch thick.

Sweet Potato Dipping Sauce

This is a thin but very tasty dipping sauce that will go well with everything from sweet potato fries to seafood.

Ingredients

1 cup Dijon mustard

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup honey (No honey - use brown sugar).

1/2 cup lemon or lime juice (your choice)

1 level teaspoon ginger powder

Instructions

Mix all the ingredients together. I use an electric egg beater.

Place the mixture in a canning jar. Fill jar to 80% or less so that you can shake the mixture well before pouring into a dipping bowl. Keep mixture refrigerated. This sauce has many other uses, such as basting seafood and vegetables while grilling.

Historical note: My home state of Queensland, Australia, has become one of the largest producers of ginger.

“It all started with some raw ginger pieces that found their way to Buderim, Australia many, many years ago. They thrived in the rich volcanic soil, the high rainfall and humidity. When the Second World War cut ginger supply from China, sales of the Buderim produced crop soared. As a result of this, five Buderim farmers met together in an old blacksmith’s shop and formed The Buderim Ginger Grower’s Co-operative Association Limited. Between them they had capital of 25 pounds (50 dollars), two wooden vats, 14 tons of green ginger and plenty of Australian spirit.”

(www.buderimginger.com)

Making Sweet Potato Fries

Select three or four medium sweet potatoes; trim the ends and any ugly parts of the skin. This keeps about 80% of the skin. Cut the potatoes into thin fries. In a small bowl, add 1/2 cup of olive oil, 1 tsp of  salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder and a teaspoon of Italian Seasoning.  Mix the ingredients well. Pour over the fries and mix the fries well until the oil and spices are well distributed.

Cook the spiced and oiled fries in a frying pan, turning the fries until tender and well browned. Sweet potato fries take longer to cook than regular potato fries. Some prefer to oven cook these fries at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Turn the fries over during the oven cooking.