Spicy Hot Steamed Sweet Potatoes
Potatoes are a staple in many countries, just as rice is in others.
Potatoes do have a small amount of vitamins and minerals in them, but
one might compare them to their distant cousin; the sweet potato. Sweet
potatoes are full of necessary vitamins and minerals and can be a
pleasant change of pace; especially steamed sweet potatoes.
Consider this: a sweet potato has 3 grams of fiber per serving
(approximately 100g), is extremely high in vitamin A and
beta-carotene, is a respectable source of many B vitamins and potassium,
and contains smaller amounts of other vitamins and minerals such as
vitamin C and calcium.
The trick, however, is to cook sweet potatoes the right way. You can
bake them, but that takes quite a long time, heats up the kitchen and
uses a lot of energy. You could boil them, but that leaches out the
vitamins and minerals and makes them mushy. Perhaps one of the best ways
to cook a sweet potato is in a food steamer, or at least a steamer
basket. Either way, you will need a basket for this recipe.
Steamed sweet potatoes are good with some salt and butter on them, but
this recipe takes it a step further by adding some spicy heat to the
potato. The heat comes from chipotle, which is a smoke-dried jalapeno
pepper. Don't worry, it's not a terribly hot dish, but it is a dish that
you will not soon forget.
Ingredients:
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 2 tablespoons of margarine or butter
- Salt
- 1 chipotle chili pepper (canned in Adobo sauce)
How You Do It:
Peel and cut the sweet potato into medium-sized uniform cubes. You
should have about 4 cups of potato. Steam them in a food steamer or a
food basket in a pot over about 3 cups of water (you don’t want the
water to touch the food). Steam them for 15 to 20 minutes. You want them
soft but not mushy.
Remove the potatoes from the steamer and put them in a bowl big enough
to easily contain them. If you are steaming in a pot with a basket, you
can just remove the basket and dump out the water then put the potatoes
in the pot.
Add the butter to the potatoes along with a pinch of salt (1/2 teaspoon
or more). Mash the sweet potatoes.
Chop up the chipotle pepper and add it to the mashed sweet potatoes. Be
sure to wash your hands after handling the pepper because if you touch
your eyes later the acid from the pepper will burn them. Ever heard of
pepper spray?
Mix the peppers and potatoes together then add about 1 teaspoon of the
Adobo sauce from the can and mix it in well. Your steamed sweet potatoes
and chipotle are now done. Serve hot. This goes well with brown rice
made Spanish style.
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