I have always loved potatoes. They have long been my favorite vegetable. As a type 2 Diabetic however, these days they are more than often off my menu. I have had to rethink a lot of my old favourites and try to create new favourites. Oddly enough new potatoes are not as bad for you as old potatoes, and sweet potatoes are actually the wisest choice of all the potatoes. High in fiber and vitamins, they are also considered to be low GI, which means they won't spike your blood sugars as much as regular potatoes. Great news for me, because I also love sweet potatoes!
And by that I don't mean the sugar and marshmallow laced variety that you will see on some tables, I like them just plain, with a bit of salt and pepper, nothing else needed . . . well sometimes a bit of garlic and some parmesan cheese, but I am more of a savoury sweet potato lover rather than a "sweet" sweet potato lover, if that makes sense.
A casserole I used to love was made using lightly fried potatoes and onions . . . and cheese, all mixed in and baked until ooey gooey fabulous. Maybe with a bit of bacon scattered over top. You can well imagine how very tasty it was. But not so good for you. This is my rethink on that dish.
I switched out the regular potatoes for sweet potatoes, and I didn't fry them. Nope. I cut them into chunks and par boiled them. I didn't fry onions either. I finely chopped some red onion and mixed it into the sweet potatoes, along with a bit of salt and pepper.
I nixed the bacon and replaced it with another "B" word, broccoli, which we also happen to love in this house. Cut into florets and lightly blanched, it works perfectly in this.
I use a lower fat cheddar cheese. Get a whole block and crumble it yourself. It melts better and you get nice gooey nuggets which are really pleasing to the tongue.
Half the sweet potato, onion mix is layered in a baking dish and topped with half of the crumbled cheese . . . repeat and then bake until hot and bubbling.
This is really REALLY good. In fact I like it better than the old version. Colourful, delicious,and filled with lots of fibre, it is helping on my road towards better and healthier eating. I don't feel deprived and I am eating a delicious rainbow of taste. Nom Nom!
*Sweet Potato, Broccoli and Cheese Bake*Serves 4Printable Recipe
There's no doubt about it, this is delicious!
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes2 large broccoli crown, broken into florets2 TBS finely minced red onionfine sea salt and coarse black pepper to taste125g strong cheddar cheese, crumbled (1/4 pound)
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F gas mark 6. Lightly spray a shallow gratin dish large enough to hold both vegetables with some light cooking oil spray, or lightly butter. Set aside.
Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the cubed sweet potato. Bring back to the boil and then cook for about 10 minutes, until semi tender, adding the broccoli florets in the last five minutes. Drain well and then refresh under cold water. Toss together in a bowl with the minced onion and some salt and black pepper to taste. Layer half of the vegetables in the baking dish. Scatter half of the cheese crumbles on top. Layer on the remaining vegetables and scatter with the remaining cheese. Bake for 15 minutes until golden and bubbling. Serve hot.
This was so delicious I can't quite remember what I served with it?? Whatever it was, it obviously paled in comparison to this delicious bake. The leftovers the next day served with some salad were also mightly tasty. I hope you will give it a go! Bon Appetit!
