SWEET POTATO BOATS with CORN SALSA

This is one of my favourite dinners to eat when I know that I am going to be eating late. I love baked sweet potato and have never cared about the carbohydrate content of these; as they are low in GI (much lower than other types of potato) and therefore keep you feeling fuller for longer. Preparing corn kernels from a corn on the cob can be a little fiddly, but taste much nicer (and have a much smaller sugar content) than using canned. I know this taste article on preparing corn kernels very useful - http://www.taste.com.au/how+to/articles/810/how+to+remove+corn+kernels. I make the salsa and bake the sweet potato during the day so that this meal is ready for me when I get home at 9pm most nights. The sweet potato do not get soggy as I wrap them individually in aluminium foil once they have cooled. And on a side note; this is one of the only vegetarian dishes that my fiancee does not complain about! So that's a win all in itself. I kept the salsa very simple as I wanted to keep the recipe low-fuss, however you could add all types of herbs to it, such as fresh chives, coriander, basil and/or spices such as ground sumac, paprika and/or pepper. 

INGREDIENTS

Sweet potato boats 

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, washed and cut in half (skin not removed)
• 1 teaspoon rice bran oil

Corn salsa

• 4 small to medium corn cobs (around 500g), husks / silks stripped and kernels removed (see website link above)
• 1/2 large green capsicum, seeds & membrane removed, roughly chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 medium Lebanese cucumber or 1/3 continental cucumber, roughly chopped
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 small or 1/2 a large avocado, diced 
• the juice of 1 medium lime
• ground black pepper

COOKING 

1. Preheat a fan force oven to 220 degrees celsius. Line a baking tray with baking paper. 

NB: If you want to decrease the time the sweet potato cooks in the oven place the sweet potato halves on a plate covered with glad wrap in the microwave for 10 minutes. 

2. Lightly brush the cut part of the potato with rice bran oil. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes if you used the microwave method or 40 minutes if not, until the potato is golden and/or a fork can be inserted in the middle of the potato with little resistance. (The baking time will be longer if you do not use a microwave first or if your sweet potato halves are bigger than mine were). Remove from the oven when cooked to your satisfaction.  

3. While the sweet potato is baking, bring a small to medium pot of water to the boil over medium-high heat. When the water has boiled add the corn kernels and cook for just two minutes. The corn should be tender but not mushy. Remove from the heat and drain with cold water. Place the corn, capsicum, tomato, cucumber, spring onion, avocado and lime juice in a deep bowl and grind black pepper over the top. Toss well to combine and add any herbs or spices you would like. 

4. Leave the sweet potato halves to cool for just a few minutes after being removed from the oven so that they are able to be handled. There are two ways you can serve this dish. 
1. Scoop out some of the now soft flesh of the potato and scoop the corn salsa into this hole until overflowing. The scooped out flesh of the sweet potato can be mixed in with the salsa or can be eaten as a side. 
OR 2. Serve the sweet potato as is and plate the corn salsa as a side. 

Serves / 4 / 1 sweet potato half per person

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 25 - 45 minutes 

x Emily