Sweet Potatoes Meet Kimchi and Hummus

As promised, here are the recipes to two surprisingly tasty creations I made earlier this week.  I had sweet potatoes and a jar of fermented cabbage taking up much-needed space in  my fridge.  My sometimes questionable creative juices spit out a sweet potato and kimchi pancake :o, and I rolled with it.

Sweet Potato and Kimchi Pancake

Serving size: 6 pancakes | Prep time: 40 min | Cooking time: 10 min

Ingredients

• 2 med sweet potatoes, mashed *
• 3/4 cup kimchi, chopped bite-sized **
• 1/2 med onion, chopped
• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup tofu, crumbled
• 2 Tbs. almond milk
• 1/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
• Canola oil for frying, approx 6 Tbs. divided
• 1/4 cup chickpea flour **
• 2 eggs

* You can either steam, boil, or roast them.  I roasted mine in the oven for about 30 min at 400F.  Avoid overcooking – still need to have some firmness or else it will fall apart!

Another option is just to julienne and incorporate into the batter.  This will result in a crispier pancake.

** Any kind of flour should work…I would think.  If anything else, it will be fun to experiment 😉

Dipping Sauce

• 2 Tbs. low sodium soy sauce
• 2 Tbs. rice vinegar
• 1 Tbs. honey

Directions

1. Roast sweet potatoes.
2. Mash after they’ve cooled and set aside.
3. Prepare dipping sauce and set aside.
4. In a med pan over med high heat, add 1 Tbs. EVOO and cook kimchi, onion, peppers in that order.  Mix and cook until veggies softened, approx 5 min.
5. When cool, combine with sweet potatoes.  Add crumbled tofu.
6. Add milk and breadcrumbs.
7. Form the mixture into a 3/4 to 1 in thick round patty.
8. Coat in flour, then in egg.
9. Fry the  pancake in canola oil until browned, approx 3 min per side.  Be sure not to overcrowd the pan.
10. Remove from pan and serve with sauce.

I loved the crunchiness and the spiciness that the kimchi added to this otherwise sweet pancake.  And of course the dipping sauce is optional, but as I’m a sucker for the salty-sweet combination, I thought this took it up another notch.

Now, I wasn’t about to turn on my oven in this 100 degree weather  just to roast 2 measly sweet potatoes!  Gotta make the most of the situation, right?  So what did I do with the rest?  I had just cooked a huge batch of dry chickpeas, and I didn’t have any hummus already made in the fridge.  So…no brainer!  Time to get my sweet potato hummus on!

Sweet Potato Hummus

Recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chickpeas
• 1 1/2 Tsp. kosher salt
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup tahini
• 6 Tbs. lemon juice (2 lemons)
• 2 Tbs water or liquid from chickpeas
• 1 med sweet potato
• Paprika, for garnish

Directions:

Place all ingredients into a food processor and process until hummus is coarsely pureed.   Taste for seasoning.  Scoop into a bowl and sprinkle paprika on top.

Question: 

Aside from roasting, what is your favorite way to enjoy sweet potatoes?  Any recipes welcomed!! 🙂