Nothing says fall like the vibrant orange and earthygoodness of my favorite root vegetable. Yams, with their rough and tumbleoutside and surprisingly sweet inside, are the one thing I always have to haveafter the long summer months are over. Even though they’re available all yearround, they just don’t taste the same to me unless the air is a little cooler,the breeze a little stronger, and the leaves a little yellower.
I like to use yams in many different ways; they really are aversatile vegetable, pairing well with both sweet and savory dishes. I like tobake them, roast them, add them to stews and casseroles; sometimes I’ll eventhrow leftover yams into a nice autumn salad. This time I decided to bake themand stuff them with roasted red pepper quinoa and Mexican chipotle veggiesausages. I let flavored ingredients do most of the work for me, so this one issuper easy!
Getting Started
One of my favorite plan-ahead things to do in the fall andwinter is to bake yams and potatoes ahead for the week. It takes the sameamount of time whether I’m cooking 1 or 5, so I try to get the most bang for mytime-management buck! Plus I can throw them in the oven and then catch up onother things while I’m pretending to “cook.” This recipe calls for 4 yams, butfeel free to throw some extras in there if you plan to eat them later.
Start by preparing the yams for baking. Make sure they’renice and clean and that any imperfections are cut off. Mine were sitting for afew days so I had a few sprouts to take care of! Once clean and dry, poke holesall around with a fork and coat with a little olive oil. I’ve found the easiestmethod is to just pour a little on each yam and then rub it in with my hands.Then just toss them in a preheated oven for around 50 minutes at 350 degrees. How long you cook them really depends on how fat they are –the fatter the longer. I like to cook them until they are oozing from the forkholes and are pretty soft in the middle - the softer they are the sweeter andmore flavorful they will be. I would like to note that even though you do notneed a pan to cook these in (you can simply place them on the racks in youroven) they will ooze quite a bit, so a layer of foil is recommended! Unless, ofcourse, you would like your house to smell like crispy burnt yam for a while…whichactually doesn’t smell that bad…I find things out the hard way, people!
You now have the next 50 minutes to do absolutely nothing –no chopping, no measuring, no stirring or flipping - nada! What will you dowith all your free time?! Ha! I chose to clean, because even when I’m simplybaking yams, I still end up with a mess somehow.
When your yams are done, set them aside to cool and get yourquinoa going (cook according to package directions). When there are about 6minutes left, crumble up your “sausage” in a skillet with a little olive oiland brown slightly, making sure not to overcook. By the time the quinoa andsausage are done the yams should be cool enough to handle (although probably stillpretty hot, so be careful!). Cut a pocket into each yam by cutting a slit downthe middle, making sure not to cut the sides all the way down. Fill each pocketwith your desired amount of fillings, top with cheese, and throw them back inthe oven for about 5min or so. I recommend putting them in a baking dish thistime in case yummies fall out. Wrapping it Up
That’s all there is to it! It takes a little time, but ifyou’ve baked the yams ahead of schedule, this will be a super quick and easy meal.It’s also a great way to get rid of leftovers. Dustin and I both really likedthis one, and I’m eager to try some variations with different kinds of fillings.I have a package of smoked apple sausage in the fridge that I want to try nextwith maybe rice or couscous – can’t wait!
Ingredients
4 yams1 box “Red Pepper & Basil” quinoa2 Mexican chipotle vegetariansausages (I used Field Roast brand)Shredded cheese for toppingOlive oil
Servings: 4
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