KUMARA - THE NEW POTATO

Are sweet potatoes better for you than regular potatoes?

The answer, though debated, appears to be YES from my research. Sweet potato (or Kumara) has a lower GI index (Glyemic index) than regular potatoes, meaning that your stomach stays filled for longer after consuming this vegetable. In addition, sweet potato is rich in Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Of course regular potato has its health benefits as well, however in my personal opinion, I'd prefer to eat the vegetable that is going to fill my stomach the longest, so that I'm not reaching for carbs at 10pm.


In light of this new research, I went on a sweet potato cooking frenzy last night and made 2 dishes. Both dishes are vegetarian and quite simple to make.




SWEET POTATO AND SAGE RISOTTO 


This is my go-to dish when I don't want to do too much work in the kitchen. I have made this recipe countless times and have invented short cuts (as you do) from the original recipe. I have decreased the amount of olive oil and cheese in the recipe to make it lower in fat.


Ingredients 

• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small to medium red onion, chopped finely 
• 600- 700g orange sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
• 400g (2 cups) doongara rice 
• (the recipe calls for arborio rice, however due to my deep love of doongara rice I have altered this. Either type of rice will work). 
• 1.25 litres (5 cups) hot vegetable stock 
• (Use Massel Stock Powder if possible).  
• 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese 
• (a quick way to lower the fat content is to reduce the cheese component to 1/4- 1/2 of a cup).
• 3 tablespoons fresh shredded sage 
• 1 tablespoon ground sage 
• (this is optional but it just seems to improve the taste for me). 

Cooking 

1. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan (emphasis on LARGE) and cook the red onion over medium- high heat for 2-3 minutes, or until softened. Add the sweet potato and rice and stir well until both are coated in oil.


2. Add 5 cups of hot vegetable stock to the saucepan and lower the heat to simmer. Stir occasionally until the stock is absorbed into the rice. This may take around 20-25 minutes.


3. When the stock has absorbed, taste test the rice to make sure that it is soft. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the parmesan and shredded & ground sage if you desire.


4. Serve and enjoy!


Note- this recipe states that it serves 4. From my experience it can serve 5-6 quite easily.

Recipe adapted from 'Vegie Food', a chunky cookbook, published by Murdoch Books.
-On a side note; I adore this book. For anyone that is partial to vegetarian food, this book is amazing. It is 400 pages in length and filled with countless tasty recipes. You can find this cookbook at most Coles Supermarkets for only $12.00.





SWEET POTATO & CHICKPEA BURGERS 

This dish I found in a recently released Weight Watchers Cookbook called 'Eat & Enjoy'. I greatly recommend this cookbook, as the food is low fat and not lacking in taste. These burgers are a great substitute to meat. The chickpeas and sweet potato are quite filling and taste delicious together. The 2 spices used in this recipe, ground cumin and ground coriander, greatly compliment each other.


Ingredients 

• 300g sweet potato, cut into 3cm pieces
• 400g can chickpeas, drained 
• 1/3 cup (25g) breadcrumbs made from fresh white, multigrain or wholemeal bread 
• TIP- to make fresh breadcrumbs, remove crusts and cut bread into cubes. Process cubes for a few seconds in a food processor or blender. You can freeze the leftovers in a sealed bag for up to 3 months. Please do not use stale breadcrumbs from a packet, as your patties will not taste nearly as fresh. 
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed 
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1/4 cup (60g) no-fat Greek-style yogurt 
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice 
• 4 x 80g wholegrain bread rolls, split and toasted in the oven for 5 or so minutes. 
• 1-2 cups salad leaves 
• 1 tomato, thinly sliced 
• 1 Lebanese cucumber, sliced

Cooking 

1. Boil, steam or microwave sweet potato until just tender. Personally, I prefer boiling. This will take around 15 minutes. 

2. Place the tender sweet potato in a large bowl with the chickpeas and mash until smooth. Add fresh breadcrumbs, ground cumin, ground coriander, garlic and egg white and mix until combined. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

3. Using damp hands, form mixture into 4 similar sized patties. 

4. Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Cook patties for 4-5 minutes each side. Then transfer the patties to the oven and cook for around 10 minutes on a setting of 200 degrees Celsius for a fan forced oven.  

5. Whilst the patties are cooking, combine yoghurt and lemon juice in a small bowl. 

6. Serve patties with salad, tomato, cucumber and yoghurt mixture if desired. 

Preparation time: 20 minutes 

Cooking time: 25 minutes 

x E