Easy as ABC Monday: Y is for yams
According to Cook’s Thesaurus, Americans refer to a sweet, moist variety of sweet potato as yams. Yams have orange flesh and are sweeter than their white-fleshed cousins. Yams are quite versatile, and though you may be used them candied and (yuck!) served with marshmallows for Thanksgiving dinner, I prefer them savory or spicy. If I bake them I like them with butter or salt. When I make oven fries with them I like to add chili powder and cumin. When roasted I like them with olive oil, garlic and ginger.
Then my friend Nicole suggested making sweet potato burritos with roasted sweet potatoes, black beans, Monterey Jack cheese, spinach, sour cream and brown rice. The first night I had the ingredients on hand to try it I had a number of people coming over for dinner. I’d watched an episode of Good Deal with David Lieberman that called for making enchiladas casserole style, layering charred tortillas with sauce and filling and baking it so I figured I’d give that a shot. The result was fantastic. It’s so good it’s become one of my classic, can’t think of anything else to make so I’ll make something that pleases everybody dinners.
Veggie Enchilada Bake
Peel (if desired- I usually scrub well and leave the skins on) and chop the yams into bite sized pieces. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and a little chili powder if you like things spicy. Bake in a 400 degree oven for half an hour, or until tender when pierced with a fork. Leave the oven on.
Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and cook a few minutes until translucent. Add the jalapenos and cook a few minutes more. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, cumin and salt and cook about 10 minutes more until the sauce thickens.
Char the tortillas over the flame of a gas range or in a dry skillet if using electric.
Spread some of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Top with a few tortillas, half of the yams, half of the black beans, half of the spinach and a third of the cheese. Layer more sauce and a few more tortillas on top, adding the rest of the yams, black beans, spinach and another third of the cheese. Put the rest of the tortillas on top and cover with cheese. Bake until the cheese is brown and bubbly. Serve with sour cream and salsa. (And perhaps some ridiculously easy flan for dessert!)
yams, sweet potatoes, vegetarian enchiladas, veggie enchilada bake, recipe
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October 9th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
I need to start making these again… I sort of forgot about them!
November 22nd, 2007 at 11:39 am
[...] decided what to eat today while most of America chomps down on turkey. Jackie presents Easy as ABC Monday: Y is for yams posted at Kids Dish. Mapmaster presents Best-Ever Mushroom Sauce posted at Lisa’s Vegetarian [...]
November 22nd, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Happy Thanksgiving!