Sweet Potatoes: Nutrition Wrapped in Vivid Flavors

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN
Published: January 24, 2011

My neighbor was going out of town last week, so he offered me a bag of sweet potatoes he’d bought. Rather than do what I usually do with sweet potatoes (bake them), I hit the books to learn what cooks in Asia, Mexico and the Mediterranean make with them.

A lot, it turns out.

By sweet potatoes, I mean the orange-fleshed tubers with brownish skin that growers and supermarkets often mislabel as “yams.” The two varieties at my local farmers’ market are jewel yams and the darker-skinned garnet yams, both sweet and moist.

In fact, actual yams have starchier, light yellow flesh and a rough, brown skin; they are native to Africa and Asia, and an important staple in the Caribbean and in parts of Africa. But they don’t have the impressive nutritional profile of real sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes have a low glycemic index (actual yams do not), and they’re an excellent source of vitamin A, in the form of beta carotene, and vitamin C. Sweet potatoes also provide vitamin B6, potassium, fiber, manganese, copper and iron. When you see the nutritional values accompanying this week’s recipes, you’ll find that sweet potatoes offer all of this at a relatively low caloric price.

Chili-Bathed Sweet Potatoes

Rick Bayless offers a wonderful recipe for sweet potatoes glazed with an ancho chili paste in “Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen.” Instead of making the paste, I make a thinner glaze with canned chipotle and some of the adobo they’re packed in. The glaze makes a spicy contrast to the sweet potatoes.

2 garlic cloves, green shoots removed

Salt to taste

2 chipotle chilies in adobo, seeded

2 tablespoons adobo sauce from the chilies

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground cloves (1 clove)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup chicken broth or water

1 cup fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon finely chopped orange zest

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 large sweet potatoes (about 3 pounds), scrubbed

Chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)

Note: Sweet potatoes may be labeled as yams. Look for dark orange flesh.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 2-quart baking dish. Place the garlic, salt, chipotles and adobo sauce, cinnamon, cloves, pepper, broth, orange juice and honey in a blender. Blend until smooth. Strain into a large, wide bowl, and stir in the orange zest.

2. Cut the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise, then cut each half into 4-inch lengths. If the sweet potatoes are fat, cut the pieces in half lengthwise into wedges. Add to the bowl, and toss with the adobo mixture until coated. Transfer to the baking dish, then pour on the liquid from the bowl. Drizzle on the oil, and cover tightly with foil.

3. Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven until tender. Raise the heat to 425 degrees, uncover the sweet potatoes and baste with the liquid in the pan. Continue to bake, uncovered, until the sweet potatoes are thoroughly tender and glazed and any sauce remaining in the pan is thick. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Yield: Serves six.

Advance preparation: You can make this dish several hours ahead of serving and reheat in a medium oven. You can assemble the dish through Step 2 several hours before you bake it.

Nutritional information per serving: 269 calories; 5 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 52 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 262 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 4 grams protein

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/24/health/nutrition/24recipehealth.html