Hero ingredients are the saviours of busy meals! These two veggies wear more capes than the entire Justice League combined. Sweet potato and cauliflower are worth their weight in gold. They’re super versatile, act as healthy substitutes to old school staples and they taste delish!
Here’s how to make the most of them!
Sweet Potato
One serve of sweet potato contains 37% of your recommended daily Vitamin C intake, they help regulate blood sugar levels and they have so much Vitamin A (438% of your daily value) that one serve a day can halt the progression of preventable blindness![1]
Stuffed Sweet Potatoes: Mix up the proteins you pack inside your baked bad boys; Mexican style with grilled prawns and salsa, Italian style with turkey bolo, or twice baked with Greek Yoghurt and dried chives.
Sweet Potato Gratin: Slice and layer with fresh herbs and a coconut milk & chicken stock base, bake to perfection.
Sweet Potato Wedges: Easy afternoon snack; bake in the oven and season with paprika.
Vegan Sweet Potato Soup: Using our hero ingredient as the base, cook down with vegetable stock, coconut milk, curry paste, leek, celery, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, kaffir lime leaves and fresh lime juice.
Featured Recipe: Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 medium uncooked sweet potatoes, peeled, chopped into 1-inch chunks
- 2 medium garlic cloves, peeled
- ½ cup natural Greek yogurt
- 4 tsp sugar
- Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
Method
Place potatoes and garlic in a large pot; pour in enough water to cover. Set pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Boil until you can easily push a fork in the sweet potatoes; about 8 minutes.
Drain potatoes and garlic and transfer to a large bowl. Add yogurt and sugar, mash until smooth.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cauliflower
Super low in calories, carbs and cheap as chips. Cauliflower works double duty in your kitchen so you don’t have to!
Cauliflower ‘Rice’: Excellent substitute for real rice, can use as a base for any sauce or highlight on its own in a risotto with morel mushrooms and truffle oil. See basic recipe below.
Cauliflower Mash: Perfect as a side dish that offers the ‘starch’ element of a meal without the carbs.
Cauliflower ‘Steak’: Slice a whole head of cauliflower into thick slices, rub with olive oil and sage, lightly brown in a saucepan before roasting in the oven.
Cauliflower Gems: Shape food-processed cauliflower mixed with egg and breadcrumbs into tater tot gems. Bake in the oven and repeat after the kids gobble them up!
Featured Recipe: Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients
- 300g cauliflower
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- Sea salt and pepper
Method
Hand grate or food process cauliflower.
Heat oil in a small frying pan, add the garlic and cauliflower and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft.
Season with salt and pepper.
References
[1] S. M. Laurie, M. Booyse, M. T. Labuschagne, M. M. Greyling. Multienvironment Performance of New Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato Cultivars in South Africa. Crop Science, 2015; 55 (4): 1585