It may be the end of May, over 80 degrees outside with a humidity percent well into the 70’s, and the kind of weather for cold potato salads and chips, but for the past month and a half I have had just one food on my mind: piping hot sweet potatoes. My brain must secretly reside on the other side of the equator where this kind of craving is more seasonally appropriate. So you’ll have to forgive me and my weird-o brain, because I need to talk to you about sweet potatoes, and I need to do it not once, but twice this week. I think by the end of the week you’ll understand, and perhaps I’ll scandalously get you to buy out-of-season for these recipes, too.
What I’m really dying to tell you about is the chipotle sweet potato overnight oats that I made, because that breakfast was just about the most fantastic combination of flavors to ever grace my humble little taste buds. But I can’t tell you about that right now, because that would be getting ahead of myself. You see, the overnight oats uses a chipotle sweet potato dip, so first things first, we have to talk about this dip.
The first time I made it, I followed the recipe darn close to a T. I used unsweetened and unflavored almond milk instead of vanilla coconut milk, because I’m really not into the whole coconut craze and the store was plum out of vanilla almond milk. I meant to add a little drop of vanilla extract, but as things tend to go in my kitchen, that just didn’t happen. I also used two small sweet potatoes (I’m talking just about the tiniest little yams – oh, that’s another thing, sweet potatoes apparently don’t exist where I’m from – I’ve ever seen) instead of 1 sweet potato. In the end, the dip was good. The chipotle powder was a little demure and the honey gave it a sweetness that I didn’t think it needed when you’re already dealing with a sweetpotatoyam. I also wasn’t satisfied with the “1 sweet potato” measurement in the original recipe. I don’t know about you, but at my grocery stores, sweet potatoes can range in size from modest potato length to absolute colossal monstrosities. I genuinely cannot tell you what an “average” sweet potato would look like. So, because I like you guys and want you to have consistent and out-of-this-world results, I forcedmyself to make this recipe again, only this time, I put the Floptimism spin on things.
Below is the recipe that I came up with, and I have to tell you, it’s truly wonderful. It’s sweet and creamy with a nice kick that will make you blink twice but won’t knock you flat off your feet. It’s easy and fast to make once you take care of cooking the sweet potato, which I baked while something else was in the oven about 2 days before I made the dip itself. This batch stretched for about 3 healthy servings for me, though you may be able to eek out a few more at a party. I’ve used it as a regular dip with apple slices and homemade cinnamon tortilla chips (brush a tortilla with oil, sprinkle with cinnamon, cut into wedges and toast until crisp; if you use a generous serving of oil they’re to die for but shh!); you could use it as a sandwich/wrap spread, mix it with yogurt or almond milk and top with oats or your favorite cereal, you name it. You could also swap out the milk for some yogurt for a thicker, potentially more condiment-like product. You guys, this is so much more than a dip.
Chipotle Sweet Potato Dip
Healthy, creamy, slightly spicy, and versatile in how it can be used: this dip has it all. Try not to eat it all at once, I dare you.
Yield: 2 cups
Prep Time: 33 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
The Ingredients
1 14 ounce sweet potato/yam
2 tablespoons (all-natural, creamy) peanut butter
¼ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 teaspoons chipotle powder
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
The Method
Pierce the skin of the sweet potato and bake in an oven preheated to 350° Fahrenheit until soft. Remove the peel and set aside.1,2,3 Cool the flesh of the sweet potato, approximately 30 minutes. Add the cooled potato along with all of the other ingredients into a food processor and mix until well pureed and smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings before transferring to a covered container and refrigerating until needed.
Source, adapted: Breakfast to Bed
Notes:
1If you can manage, the original recipe says that removing the skin immediately after baking will allow the flesh to slip right out. Letting it cool first will make the process a little trickier and you’ll probably either wind up with a hacked-to-pieces peel or bits of flesh clinging persistently to the skin. If you choose to peel it immediately, please just be careful – hot sweet potatoes are no joke!
2I love potato skins, so any recipe that tells me to do away with it naturally makes me a little sad. After peeling my potato, I saved the skin for later. Letting it toast/broil a little bit before using it gets rid of the sogginess and replaces it with a crisp product that’s perfect for stuffing with any number of things – salad, egg scrambles, other dips and veggies, you name it. Waste not, want not!
3Last but not least, seriously consider doing this step ahead of time. Between baking and cooling, it turns this easy dip into a more time-consuming recipe. By coordinating the baking with another recipe that uses the oven earlier in the week, you can whip this dip up when you need it in a flash.
So now that you know how to make this dip, I expect each and every one of you to have a batch of it ready by Wednesday, when I’ll be back with the best overnight oats recipe ever – using a healthy dose of this dip as its base! Oh, and please also find time between now and then to enjoy a wonderful, sunny Memorial Day!
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