I’d said I was going to write about sweet potatoes for this week. They are everywhere right now and very important to Southern cooking. However, I have come across references to cooking with sweet potato leaves twice in the past week so thought that this is a trend we in the Golden Triangle can jump on and leave kale far behind.
I found references online as far back as 2009 for recipes including sweet potato leaves. I realize that is just five years in people years, but it’s decades in food years. Most often the blogger or writer will admit that he/she was surprised they hadn’t thought of eating the leaves before. I haven’t eaten them either, so I’ll proceed on hearsay. They are tender (be sure they are young and very fresh), not bitter and have a hint of sweetness.
Some people eat them raw in salads; others find that they are too sharp-tasting that way. They are high in vitamin K and are a good source of vitamin A. They are eaten in Asia and Africa and in the Philippines.
If you get sweet potato greens from your garden, you can start harvesting the leaves about a month after you’ve planted them. However, don’t take more than half the leaves from any particular plant, and though you can take part of the stem, don’t eat the stem; discard it. Only the leaves have a good taste. It can be harvested more than once, though some farmers say the leaves get bitterer close to the time of harvesting the potatoes. (I was thinking that you could use some of the stir-fried leaves as a nice garnish on the soup. Chop them up some so that they fit into a soupspoon.)
If you don’t want to grow the potatoes yourself, talk to the wonderful vendors at the Hitching Lot Farmers’ Market. If you can get your hands on some leaves, here are a few recipes to try. I’ll have more on the sweet potato itself next week.
COUNTRY-STYLE SWEET POTATO GREENS
1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil
1 quart, approximately, boiling water plus cold water (for blanching)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 pound sweet potato greens, thoroughly rinsed, stems removed
(Source: grit.com)
SWEET AND SAVORY SWEET POTATO LEAVES
8 cups de-stemmed, torn and rinsed sweet potato leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon cider vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable or chicken stock
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
2 tablespoons crushed pecans
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
(Source: coonrockfarm.com)
SWEET POTATO COCONUT CURRY SOUP
Serves 4
1 medium white onion, diced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 large sweet potato, cubed
2 tablespoon yellow curry powder
1/4 teaspoon chipotle (or cayenne) powder
3/4 teaspoon sea salt plus 1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups coconut milk (either light coconut milk or plain coconut beverage)
Add 1/4 tsp more salt and pepper, coconut milk and cover. Bring to a simmer and then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 25 minutes more.
(Source: minimalistbaker.com)
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