red or green?: Smashed Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle

smashed sweet potatoes with roasted salmon & sauteed fennel

I love these potatoes. Sweet, spicy, savory and, best of all, healthy & delicious. You can bake the sweet potatoes first but, to make it even easier, I microwave them until soft and then proceed with the recipe. As always, use the best quality organic or sustainably grown local ingredients. If you keep a couple of cans of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in your pantry this dish is ready when you are.

Sweet potatoes are one of those "taste delicious and good for you" foods. Full of vitamin A & C plus, if you eat the skin, full of fiber. The chart below lists other vitamins and minerals found in 1 medium potato. Click here for a complete list of benefits for this amazing tuber.

Sweet Potato, baked
1.00 medium
(200.00 grams)

NutrientDRI/DV

vitamin A213.5%

vitamin C52.2%

manganese49.5%

copper35.5%

pantothenic acid35.4%

vitamin B633.5%

biotin28.6%

potassium27.1%

fiber26.4%

vitamin B318.5%

vitamin B117.5%

vitamin B216.1%

phosphorus15.4%

I added chipotle peppers and the accompanying adobo sauce to the cooked sweet potatoes and included chopped green onions for taste and crunch. Extra virgin olive oil and coarse sea salt completed the dish. Served with roasted salmon and sauteed fennel, this made a wonderful meal last Saturday night. Sunday morning I warmed up the leftover potatoes, topped with a poached egg and voilà...brunch was served. Give them a try...I think you will love the Smashed Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle.

*Note...I mash the potatoes skin and all. This results in large pieces which some may not like. I want the fiber and I love the taste. Feel free to scoop the flesh out and discard the skin if you want a smoother texture.

Smashed Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle

(serves 4)

4 medium sweet potatoes

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

4 green onions, chopped (white and green parts)

1 canned chipotle pepper, minced

2-4 tbsp adobo sauce (from the canned chipotles)

1 tsp coarse sea salt, plus more for sprinkling

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Scrub potatoes and pierce numerous times with a sharp knife (be careful!). Place on microwave safe plate and cook, on high, for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are soft when given a squeeze. Note, microwaves provide different levels of heat so check after 15 minutes. Mine took exactly 18 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool to the touch.

Cut the potatoes width-wise into 1 inch slices and place in a large bowl. Mash with a potato masher. Add the 2 tbsp olive oil, green onions, minced chipotle, 2 tbsp adobo sauce, salt and pepper and continue mashing until as smooth as you like. Stir with a wooden spoon. Taste and correct seasonings if necessary. If you like your potatoes spicy (I do!) add an additional 1-2 tbsp adobo sauce.

Mound the potatoes into a medium sized baking dish. Heat in oven for 20 minutes, or until hot. Remove from oven, drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt and serve.