Tag Archives: sweet potato

Jamaican Red Bean Stew

Posted on 10/17/2011 by | 2 Comments

Warning:  this is NOT your average crockpot recipe friends.

Think:  melt-in-your-mouth sweet potatoes, creamy red beans, velvety smooth n’ spicy coconut broth…

Oh my goodness did this one exceed expectations!

Inspired by this recipe (I take no credit here!) this crockpot wonder cooks low and slow for 8 hours while you get on with your life…

Perfect “set it and forget it” recipe for the weekend, especially if you spent it outside of the kitchen enjoying gorgeous weather like we did here in RVA :D

But once those 70 degree temps drop to a slight chill as the sun goes down, you’ll be more than ecstatic that this warming dinner is ready to serve, straight to the dinner table!

Or perhaps that was just personal experience ;)

Jamaican Red Bean Stew

Serves 4

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (larger)
  • 3-4 tblsp sliced scallions
  • 2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup light coconut milk
  • 1 tblsp fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
  • 2 tsp curry powder (I used Muchi Curry)
  • 3 allspice berries, crushed
  • red pepper flakes to taste (I have a heavy hand here lol)
  • sea salt & black pepper to taste
  • 2 cups H20

See original recipe here.

First chop up the garlic.  Add to the slow cooker on high so that it heats up a bit while you get to choppin’ the other veggies.

Carrots, sweet potatoes, scallions.

I love that you can buy loose carrots from Whole Foods because I never end up needing a whole bunch/bag.  Anyone else with me here?

And seriously ya’ll, never buy another scallion again.  They are so easy to grow indoors (simply in some H20) that even Lucy Dog could do it. Ha ;)   

Check it out.

Throw the veggies into the crockpot then follow with the canned tomatoes, drained/rinsed kidney beans and coconut milk.

Next up: the spices. Curry powder, red pepper flakes, allspice, thyme, sea salt and black pepper.

Looks like my fresh thyme plant hasn’t bit the dust yet… even though it’s October!  Thank you warm weather gods :)

And by the way, I had no idea that I even had this allspice in the cupboard.  But according to stilltasty.com (best website ever?) this stuff lasts 3-4 years, so glad I held onto it :)

If you don’t have it on hand though and don’t feel like buying it just for this recipe, move on without it.  Sometimes such is life!

Lastly just pour in some H20, I used 2 cups, and give the stew a good stir. 

Then set to low and forget about it for 8 quick hours. 

Enjoy your afternoon at a great friend’s baby shower if you’d like :) without a care in the world about “what’s for dinner”…

Once the 8 hours are up, the stew is ready to roll.  Serve with some additional coconut milk drizzled on top if you so desire.

Clearly, I desire :P

Coconut anything is my kryptonite.

And so was this Jamaican Red Bean Stew.

Wow. Wow. Wow.

I wanted to bathe in the luscious, creamy, spicy yet sweet broth that this bean stew made its home.  Yea, I said it.

And the potatoes, carrots and beans became melt-in-your mouth without getting mushy in the least.

This was REALLY REAlly really good ya’ll!

Good enough that I’d consider making it again.  Like soon.  Which is something you don’t see happen too often in the Fanatic Kitchen :P

Also good enough that the guy who sits in the desk next to me at work came over to ask me what it was that smelled so good during lunchtime (hello leftovers)!

If you’re looking for a totally different set of flavors and a recipe that barely requires any effort, then I would highly recommend giving this Jamaican Red Bean Stew a try too!

Happy Monday :)

Don’t forget, there’s one more day to enter my giveway for your chance to win a cute fold-up Tyvek reusable bag of your very own!

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Sweet Potato & Green Pea Lasagna-Wanna-Be!

Posted on 05/16/2011 by | 7 Comments

I must have been feeling ambitious after arriving home from a weekend of celebrating at Virginia Tech…

Or perhaps it was the lack of vegetables & “real food” that made this creation come to life….

But either way, I’m sure glad it did, because it was delicious! :D

Sweet Potato & Green Pea Lasagna-Wanna-Be!

Serves 4

Prep & Cooking Time: 30 minutes    Baking time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

On the trek home from Blacksburg yesterday morning my mind drifted off into food creation land, trying to think of a fun way to use up the sweet potatoes that I knew I had waiting for me at home.

I wanted something saucy ;)  and cheesy, with just enough heartiness to fill me up while not weighing me down after a weekend of indulgences.

This “lasagna” uses a very thinly sliced sweet potato in lieu of your traditional lasagna noodle.

It also has a creamy layer of ricotta & parmesan laced with sweet green peas, which is a really fun play on textures I think.

It does take some time to bake, so I’d definitely reserve it for a lazy Sunday night when you have the extra minutes to wait (it’s worth it, I promise!) :P

Layer 1:  The Meat Sauce

  • 1 can (28 oz.) Muir Glen organic crushed tomatoes w/ basil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 lb. 90/10 grass-fed ground beef
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • sea salt & black pepper
  • 1 tblsp olive oil

Cook the onion and ground beef in olive oil for 10 minutes over medium-high heat, or until the beef is mostly cooked through, stirring every once in a while.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the garlic and spices (give a quick stir), cooking for another 5 minutes until your kitchen smells like pure love.

Then throw in your canned tomatoes, give it another good stir, cover and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

P.S. If your crushed tomatoes aren’t already seasoned with basil then I’d up the amount of the dried herbs called for above.

So easy. So flavorful. So good.

Layer 2: Ricotta, Parmesan & Green Pea Mixture

  • 1 cup part-skim ricotta
  • 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan (also set aside another 1/2 cup for later)
  • 1 cup frozen sweet peas
  • 1 egg
  • sea salt & black pepper to season

Just give everything a stir to incorporate.  Easy as pie.

Layer 3:  Sweet Potato “Noodles”

  • 1 sweet potato, peeled

Anyone else ever use a mandolin slicer?  This kitchen tool is totally wonderful and pretty inexpensive.

I ran the sweet tater through the mandolin to get these super thin slices.

Of course, you could use a knife too if you don’t have a mandolin slicer on hand, just be careful! 

I might recommend microwaving the sweet potato for a minute or two if using a knife to slice since the thin mandolin-sliced pieces soften in the called for baking time, however thicker slices may take longer. 

Now let’s get to layering!

Wipe a baking dish with a bit of olive oil to prevent any sticking, then spoon about 1/2 cup of the tomato meat sauce mixture on the bottom of the pan.

Top with half of the sweet potato slices.

Then layer on all of the ricotta cheese mixture, spreading evenly but gently so as to not disturb the taters below.

Top with half of the remaining meat mixture.

Another layer of sweet potato slices (the rest of them)

Another layer of the tomato meat sauce (the rest of it).

And a final layer of more Parmesan cheese (the remaining 1/2 cup that was set aside earlier).  Feel free to use as much as you like too, as I tend to prefer it light on the cheese.

Heck, even add some shredded mozzarella while you’re at it, who am I to say! ;)

Into a 350F oven this goes.  You’ll want to cover with foil and bake for an hour, then uncover and bake for another 30 minutes.

At the end of the baking time the sweet potatoes should be fairly soft, that’s how you’ll know it’s done :)

Oh just check out all those layers!

Who said lasagna had to have noodles anyways? :P

This dish had an almost sweet flavor, which I really liked alot.  I think it was a mixture of the sweet potatoes and sweet tomato basil sauce.  I also loved the oh-so-wonderful “pop” from the sweet peas (am I a broken record here?) and the creaminess from the ricotta.

I would definitely do this one over again, I considered it a hit!

Deliciously healthy while still rich n’ cheesy, total win in my cookbook ;)

Have you ever made a less-than-traditional lasagna before?  If so, do share!

 

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