Beijing's Winter Vegetables: Three Sweet Potato Recipes You Can Follow At Home

Sweet potatoes are everywhere during Beijing in winter, and if you get sick of just eating them off the street vendors, why not get some and try a new recipe at home? You won’t have to leave your overheated apartment if you’ve remembered to get all the ingredients in!

Roast Sweet Potatoes with Feta, Pomegranate, and Almonds

Ingredients:
4 sweet potatoes, washed and sliced into slices
2 tablespoons of grated ginger
1 zested orange
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
6 sprigs of sage
½ cup of Greek feta, crumbled
½ cup of pomegranate seeds
½ cup of toasted almonds, finely chopped
salt and pepper

Dressing:
1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
¼ cup of vinegar
2 tablespoons of honey
1 teaspoon minced shallots
½ cup of almond oil

Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celcius, and place the sweet potato slices, tossed in ginger, orange zest, olive oil, pepper and salt on the oven tray. Adding the sage, roast for about 30 minutes in the oven. Add together the mustard, sherry vinegar, honey, and shallots, and slowly whisk in almond oil at the end, to make a dressing. Once the sweet potatoes are done, lightly toss them in the dressing and top off with feta, pomegranates and toasted almonds.

Too Complicated?:
If the mustard, sherry vinegar, honey, shallots, and almond oil are too much for you, you can always buy a bottle of French dressing (or any really) in most imported-goods stores to simplify the recipe.

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes (No Oven Required!)

Ingredients:
2 medium-sized sweet potatoes
3 slices of bacon (more or less depending on personal taste)
2 tablespoons of sour cream
3 teaspoons of chives
2 tablespoons of cheddar cheese

Instructions:
Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork, and arrange them on paper towels as they microwave on high for eight minutes (turn after four minutes). After this, cut each potato in half, and scoop out the pulp leaving a 0.5-1cm thick skin. Mash the pulp together with the fried bacon cut into bits, sour scream, and the chives. Spoon the mixture back into the potatoes, and top off with cheese. Microwave again for about two minutes, and sprinkle again with chives if desired. There’s no way to make this easier, really.

Simple Sweet Potato Soup (No Oven Required!)

Ingredients:
6 medium-sized sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup of water (or as needed)
1 lime, juiced
2 cups of milk or cream (or as needed)

Instructions:
Chop the sweet potatoes in smaller pieces and add to the ginger in a large saucepan, pouring in chicken or vegetable stock and water as the mixture heats up and starts boiling. Reduce heat when this happens, and cover, until the potatoes have softened (about 30 minutes). Puree the sweet potatoes and lime juice in a food processor, or with a hand blender. Return to saucepan and add milk or cream as desired, as well as salt and pepper.

... and back to bed.

READ: Gobble Gobble! Where to Get Your Thanksgiving Turkey Fix in Beijing Pt. 2

Images and recipes: today.com, health.com, onceuponachef.com, allrecipes.com