BAKED SWEET POTATOES WITH TRIO DIPPING SAUCES

Recipe by Ellen Fisher

This recipe is vegan

The possibilities are endless with this simple meal. You can substitute the sweet potatoes for any root vegetables you like, such as squash, russet potatoes and other starchy vegetables like carrots and beets! Instead of steamed broccoli you can opt for asparagus and cauliflower, or simply serve lettuce cups on the side. You don’t have to make THREE sauces to go with this meal. Often, when I’m looking for a quick and filling meal, I simply pop sweet potato wedges in the oven and make one of the sauces to dip in like the Spicy Sriracha Sauce, served with a side of lettuce greens. Find whichever sauce suits you best and get dipping!

Serves 2

Ingredients: 

3-4 pounds of root veggies (like golden potatoes, yams or sweet potatoes),sliced

3 cups diced non starchy veggies to steam of choice, such as broccoli

For the Creamy Hemp dip

1/4 cup hemp seeds

1/4 cup raw cashews (soaked for 4 hours)

1 small zucchini

1-2 Medjool dates

1/2 a lemon, juiced

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 green onions

black pepper and sea salt to taste

For the Spicy “Sriracha” Sauce

1/2 a small onion, minced

5 Roma or other medium tomatoes, diced

3 heaping tbsp tomato paste

1 cup diced red bell pepper

4 Medjool dates

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp chili flakes

For the Law Fat Guacamole

2 creamy avocados

1 medium zucchini

1/4 cup diced cilantro

1 diced green onion

1-2 limes, juiced

garlic powder + black pepper

Directions:

1. Thinly slice the sweet potatoes into preferred shapes and place on a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper. I prefer to slice sweet potatoes into wedges and golden potatoes into circular discs. Sprinkle the potatoes with garlic powder and black pepper and pop into the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 to 50 minutes. Check the oven at 35 minutes to get an idea of how much longer to cook your dippers to the desired texture. Once ready, take out of the oven and place into a large family size serving bowl.

2. While the potatoes are baking, boil or steam your desired green vegetables. Set aside lettuce leaves to use as lettuce cups, if desired.

3. To make the Creamy hemp dip, blend all the ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth. Use the tamper to push down the ingredients into the blade. If you don’t have a high speed blender like the Vitamix, you can add a splash of water to get the ingredients blending.

4. To make the Spicy “Sriracha” Sauce, sauté the onion and one tomato in a medium saucepan with a splash of water on medium heat. Stir every minute or so for about 5-7 minutes. Meanwhile, blend the rest of the Sriracha ingredients in a blender until smooth. Once the onion and tomatoes are cooked down, add the blended mixture to the saucepan and turn down to low heat. Stir until sauce is warm.

5. To make the low fat guacamole, process the avocado, zucchini, cilantro, green onion and lemon in a food processor until well combined. Add garlic powder and black pepper to taste and pulse a couple more seconds.