I saw something similar to this recipe in a cookbook years ago and tried to recreate it for some friends recently. Basically, my version was terrible but I still loved the idea. Then I remembered a miso maple sauce I had eaten awhile ago at a terrific restaurant and wondered if it would help out the mess I had created. After a quick Google search I learned that the sauce was basically equal parts vinegar, maple syrup, and miso paste. Boom - perfect! It tasted like I had spent hours working on the sauce but only took about 15 minutes to cook. The perfect fake out food!
I love fake out food - recipes that taste fancy and taste like they take a lot of time, but take minimal effort. I've found that the secret to adding flavor without a lot of effort is to add an umami ingredient. What is umami you might ask? Umami is sometimes called the fifth flavor and adds deep, rich, savory flavor that comes from glutamine. Foods with umami flavor include meats, especially stocks and other slow cooked meats, tomatoes (especially tomato paste), mushrooms, Parmesan cheese, shellfish, and fermented foods (among a few others).
For this recipe I used miso (mee-so) paste, which has a deep, lovely flavor. Miso is pretty foreign to many home cooks, although it is becoming more common. Basically, it is a salty, thick paste made out of fermented soybeans. It sounds super weird and kind of creeped me out at first. Once I got the hang of it, though, I really grew to love miso. I generally always have at least one tub of it in my fridge and it lasts a LONG time so you don't have to worry about it going bad. I like to make homemade ramen soup with miso paste, and it is GREAT flavoring for soups and salad dressings. You will generally find it in the refrigerated case near where you'd find tofu. There are multiple kinds - white, red, sweet, etc. Red miso has a somewhat stronger flavor while white is more mellow, but really any kind will work for this recipe.
If you can't find miso in your grocery store, are kind of freaked out by it, or just don't want to bother, you can also use soy sauce for this recipe. Frankly, I think it tastes much better with miso (I've tried both ways), but either way works.
Rinse and lightly scrub 4 medium sweet potatoes and prick a few times with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes (I start checking the potatoes after about 25 minutes).
Quick reminder for those of you confused about the difference between yams and sweet potatoes - there isn't a difference! American grocers often label sweet potatoes as yams, but they are all different varieties of sweet potatoes. For the history nerds, this fun video does a great job breaking down the history behind the confusion.
About 15 minutes before the potatoes are done, prepare the rest of the ingredients. To make the sauce, whisk together 2 tablespoons of each of the following: rice wine vinegar, miso paste (any kind), and pure maple syrup.
I was lucky enough to have the help of a sous chef in the form of my three-year old nephew and his adorable kiddie whisk.
Preheat a large skillet over medium or medium low heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Chop 1/2 of a medium onion (1 cup) in a medium or small dice and add to the pan once the olive oil has heated up. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is starting to become translucent, about 5 minutes. Keep the heat relatively low so the onion doesn't brown too quickly.
While the onion is cooking, roughly chop 6 ounces (about 8 cups) spinach and rinse and drain one 14-ounce can white beans. Both navy beans and cannellini beans (white kidney beans) work here.
Once the onions have softened and are starting to turn translucent, add the spinach and gently toss with the onions, then cover and let cook for a few minutes so the spinach cooks down. Don't be put off by the amount of spinach in the recipe. It seems like A LOT (and it kind of is), but it will cook down quite a bit. If you are using a smaller skillet you may have to add half of the spinach and let it cook down a bit, then add the other half. I've done this a few times and it doesn't affect the finished product.
Once the spinach is softened, season with about 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (several turns of a pepper mill) and add the rinsed and drained white beans. Gently mix into the spinach and onion mixture and distribute evenly. Add the sauce and mix well (but gently). Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for several minutes until the sauce is bubbly and the mix is heated through.
Split the cooked sweet potatoes open and serve the mix over the cooked potatoes. You should have enough for four generous servings or 6 smallish servings. If you so desire, they are really also tasty with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt.
This is a pretty hands off recipe that is great for company, and the leftovers reheat really well the next day. If you don't want to bake the sweet potatoes, I think you could chop the sweet potatoes in smallish pieces and roast them, or cut them into pretty small pieces and sautee them down then mix the spinach and bean mixture and the sauteed sweet potatoes together for a kind of hash. Yum!
Spinach and White Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Serves 4-6
4 small or medium sweet potatoes (any variety)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced onion (1/2 medium onion)
6 ounces spinach, roughly chopped (about 8 cups, loosely packed)
1 14-ounce can white beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons miso paste
1. Bake sweet potatoes at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until soft when pierced with a fork.
2. Make sauce by whisking together maple syrup, vinegar, or miso paste. Set aside.
3. About 15 minutes before the potatoes are done, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium to medium low heat. Add diced onion and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions begin to soften and turn translucent. Add chopped spinach (there will be a lot!) and gently mix with cooked onions. Cover and cook for several minutes until the spinach cooks down. (You may have to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your skillet.) Mix occasionally to make sure the onions and spinach are mixed. Season with pepper and mix in rinsed and drained white beans. Add sauce and gently mix together. Cover and cook over low for a few minutes until sauce is bubbling and mixture is heated through.
4. Serve over cooked sweet potatoes. Add a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt if desired.
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