sweet potato biscuits

clearly i love biscuits. never one to resist testing out a new twist on my beloved bread product i was excited to do a test run of these guys just in time for thanksgiving. i am happy to say that they passed the test and come thursday i will be whipping up another batch (or two). the main reason i wanted to test these before the big day is because the recipe calls for gluten-free flour. i wasn't sure if there was a reason for it or just so that the biscuits are gluten-free. so i decided to test run with regular all purpose flour...nothing against gluten free but if i don't have to buy special flour i don't want to. good news gluten lovers, these turned out great! they are delicious on their own with just a hint of sweetness. however, keeping with our friday night breakfast theme we used these to make sausage egg* biscuits.

i made minor changes to make these vegan and also i would say that the nuts are optional. if you have them, sure, toss them in but i don't think i'd miss them if they weren't there. i plan to leave them out on thanksgiving. if you want to see the original recipe it's here, below is my version (and with instructions for us non-microwave, non-(large) food processor having folks). oh also, the original recipe claims 16 biscuits from this recipe...those would be 16 small biscuits, i got 10 using my 3 inch biscuit cutter.

happy thanksgiving everyone!

sweet potato biscuits

(from bon appetit, november 2010)

ingedients:

1 large red-skinned sweet potato (yam; about 1 1/4 pounds), pierced with fork

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour plus additional

2/3 cup yellow cornmeal

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled margarine, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2 cup almond milk mixed with 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar to curdle

1/4 cup maple syrup (i ran out and used 1/2 maple 1/2 agave)

1/2 cup pecans, toasted , chopped (optional)

preheat oven to 425°F. line baking sheet with parchment.

first you need to bake your potato. when the oven is hot put the potato in until cooked all the way through (about an hour depending on the size of your potato). when it's done take it out and cut it in half and scoop out 1 cup of the flesh. mash it well and let cool

in a large bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal and baking powder. cut in the margarine until you have a coarse meal. add the potato, milk mixture and syrup and mix until combined (i would recommend using your hands for that bit) add nuts (if using) and mix again.

sprinkle dough with flour. pat dough so that it's about and inch thick and cut into biscuits. transfer to baking sheet. bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 15 minutes.

*SO amazingly yummy. we used tempeh sausage crumbles from vegan with a vengence and omelet rounds from vegan brunch.

-d

sweet potato quesadillas

kris and i recently got back from a really fun jam packed trip to europe. i have tons of photos that i need to get online and one (or two) big travel/food posts to write. but since we have been go-go-going nonstop since we got back home a week ago the thought of doing that right now is a bit daunting. so, while that project is in the works i give you sweet potato quesadillas to hold you over in the meantime.

but make no mistake, this is no gotta-post-something-and-this-will-have-to-do recipe. these are awesome! they are a snap to make, can be tweaked in so many ways and i believe will be a hit even with those who normally go for the cheesy quesadillas. it all started when i bought sweet potatoes for a side dish one night, chopped 'em up and roasted them with garlic, salt and pepper, and finished it off with a squeeze of lime and cilantro (chopped, don't squeeze it, silly). it was so yummy and kris had the great idea to turn it into a quesadilla filling (a little twist on the yuca tortillas from veganomicon if that means anything to you). we topped ours with tomatoes, hot sauce and avocado but the possiblities are endless. next time i want to make cashew sour cream to dollop on top. and maybe a little cabbage slaw.

sweet potato quesadillas

ingredients:

sweet potatoes, sliced into 1/2 inch-ish rounds

garlic, roughly chopped*

olive oil

salt and pepper

juice of 1 lime

handful cilantro, chopped

your favorite tortillas**

super simple here....toss the sliced sweet potatoes and garlic with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 375 until the potatoes are tender. transfer to a bowl and mash until no big potato chunks are left. add lime juice and cilantro to taste along with more salt and pepper if needed.

when your potato mixture is absolutely delicious, heat a pan on the stove and add a tortilla. let it heat up a bit then dollop the potatoes onto the tortilla spreading the filling to the edges, and top with another tortilla. when the bottom tortilla is browned flip the whole thing over and brown the other side. remove, top with toppings and enjoy!

*you want to leave the pieces of garlic fairly large so that they roast and crisp up but don't burn

**we found really yummy chipotle flavored ones

-d

caribbean sweet potato gratin

i love casseroles because they are an easy way to pack in a hearty meal with only a little bit of effort. i also like things that let me use some of our new kitchen toys. i decided to make this recipe from moosewood for those reasons and also because it's a little something unexpected from a gratin. sweet potatoes instead of regular ones, coconut milk instead of cream or cheese, lots of fresh spinach and a little bit of tang from the limes. delicious! note that the recipe calls for cooked rice so if you don't have any already made get that cooking first. i also chopped up the full bunch of spinach and used way more than called for.

caribbean sweet potato gratin
(from moosewood restaurant new classics)
ingredients:
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1 1/2 teaspoons lime zest
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 1/2 cups (20 oz) coconut milk
4 cups (about 1 1/2 pounds) sweet potatoes, thinly sliced
1 cup cooked rice
15 oz can black beans, drained
1 1/2 cups fresh spinach, thinly chopped
topping:
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt

preheat oven to 350 and lightly oil a 9x13 baking pan.

combine the garlic, lime zest and juice, cilantro, thyme, salt, pepper and coconut milk. pour one third of this mixture into the prepared baking pan. layer half of the sweet potatoes in the bottom, topped by half the rice, half of the beans and half of the spinach. pour on another third of the coconut milk mixture and repeat the layers of potatoes, rice, beans and spinach. pour the remaining coconut milk mixture over all.

in a small bowl combine all of the topping ingredients and sprinkle over gratin.

bake, uncovered for about 60 minutes, rotating the pan after 30 minutes. when the potatoes are tender and the topping is crisp and golden brown, remove from the oven and let sit for a few minutes until the potatoes absorb any remaining liquid.

-d