Sweet Potatoes with Crispy White Beans + Smoky Sunflower Cream
Hi friends! This past week has been pretty rough with our current pandemic situation, and all of the fear surrounding Coronavirus. It has certainly given me a lot of feelings and thoughts about the world, which I won't bore you with at this time, but I will say that I go back and forth between enjoying the time of stillness, creativity and productivity, and feeling incredibly anxious and uncertain about the future. I suppose sometimes we just have to ride these waves, take things day by day and know that we will come out the other side, whenever that may be.
sweet potatoes with crispy white beans + smoky sunflower cream | kulaskitchen.com
Alright, I didn't come here to lament about the state of the world, but I DID come here in an effort to inspire you to cook during this period where you find you may have more time at home. For me, cooking is highly therapeutic, and helps to take my mind off of things while simultaneously rewarding me with something to nourish my body and soul.
sweet potatoes with crispy white beans + smoky sunflower cream | kulaskitchen.com
Since we are in social isolation times at the moment, I'm going to try to share more easy recipes that utilize pantry staples and are adaptable to what you have on hand. I came up with this recipe because I had some leftover white beans in my freezer and I wanted to make a simple and hearty vegetarian meal.
sweet potatoes with crispy white beans + smoky sunflower cream | kulaskitchen.com
We're baking up some cozy sweet potatoes alongside spicy, olive oil-coated white beans, which allows them to get super crispy and toasty in the oven. The beauty is that you can swap either of these ingredients for what you have. Regular white or yellow potatoes would also work well (like a baked potato sitch!), and you can use any hearty bean that you have in your cupboard. Chickpeas, black beans and kidney beans would all be delicious here, and you can follow the same method for cooking them.
sweet potatoes with crispy white beans + smoky sunflower cream | kulaskitchen.com
The sauce is an addition that I love because it adds a welcomed creamy, saucy element here, and I always have raw sunflower seeds hanging out in my fridge to make vegan cream sauce. Don't have any? Raw cashews or almond would also be great subs. Alternatively, you could also just use tahini or even mayo as a base to mix in the spices and lemon juice in place of nuts or seeds. Use what you have!
sweet potatoes with crispy white beans + smoky sunflower cream | kulaskitchen.com
Hope this is helpful, and please let me know what other recipes you'd like to see on here to ease the stress of these days. Sending lots of love!
Sweet Potatoes with Crispy White Beans + Smoky Sunflower Cream
Ingredients
1 can of white beans, rinsed and thoroughly dried
2 tsp olive oil
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp garlic powder
Fresh pepper
3-4 small sweet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced lengthwise
1 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt + pepper
For the sunflower cream:
⅓ cup raw sunflower seeds (can also sub raw cashews)
6 tbsp filtered water
½ tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp honey or maple syrup
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp smoked paprika (or whatever other spices you like and have on hand)
Method
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place your sweet potatoes cut side down on a lined baking sheet and rub them with 1 tbsp olive oil, plus some salt and pepper. On a separate lined baking sheet, spread your dried white beans evenly, then coat with 2 tsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp sea salt and the garlic powder. Place both trays in the oven, and bake the beans for 20 minutes or until golden brown and crispy, and the potatoes for 25-30 minutes or until tender and slightly charred.
Make the sunflower cream by adding all ingredients to a high-speed blender and blending for 1-2 minutes or until completely smooth. Taste and add more salt and lemon if desired.
Once potatoes have cooked and cooled slightly, gently scoop out a portion of the middle and fill with a couple spoonfuls of the crispy beans. Repeat with each sweet potato half. Drizzle each one generously with the sunflower cream, then top with chopped herbs and/or green onions if desired.
Serves 4
