I'm sweet on sweet potatoes...and spinach!

When cooking dinner, I try extra hard not to make the same recipe twice.  While I definitely have my food habits for breakfast and lunch, dinner is a more special meal, in my mind.  My husband and I are both home from work, we have our days behind us and the rest of the evening together ahead of us, and dinner marks when that transition happens.  So I try to make it to a new and fun experience every night.

Tonight, however, I duplicated last night's meal.

It was just that good.

The dish that I had to have again?  Sweet Potato Saag.

As you may have noticed, I've been on a sweet potato kick for quite some time.  I think it was spurred by the cleanse, since sweet potatoes are a great alkaline source of carbohydrates.  When cooked, they're so luscious and generously sweet.  I love how they almost melt in my mouth.  Besides being so darn toothsome, sweet potatoes are packed with Vitamin A, which probably doesn't come as a surprise with its orange flesh.  But did you know they also contain iron and vitamin C?  Iron in foods doesn't get absorbed by our bodies as efficiently without vitamin C, so this is nature's way of ensuring that you're getting the full benefit.  How can I not eat this tuber in large amounts?

I've also been eating a load of spinach.  My inner Popeye has busted out, on account of the cleanse too.  I've been putting spinach in my morning smoothies and eating it raw in salads.  Spinach is ridiculously full of vitamins and minerals.  It even has a bit of essential fatty acids in it!  Pretty crazy.

So, there I was, with two ingredients and a meal to make.  I took a bit of inspiration from a dish that I know I've seen at an Indian restaurant, but I'm not sure exactly where -- Saag Paneer.  Saag is any spinach (or mustard green) dish that is cooked down to a soft creaminess.  Paneer is a cheese full of flavor and texture, similar to cottage cheese, but more solid.  I decided that Sweet Potato Saag sounded tempting -- and, instead of paneer, I topped Andrew's with a heaping spoonful of herbed goat cheese.

Sweet Potato Saag

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 cups water
• 1 large sweet potato, weighing about 1 lb, chopped
• 8 oz fresh baby spinach
• additional veggies of your choice -- I chose sugar snap peas and broccoli
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 tablespoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
• a pinch of cayenne
• a heaping spoonful of goat cheese, if desired

 This dish begins like many other wonderful meals:  Heat up a nice saucepan on medium heat, measure out your oil, and throw in your onion.  Stir it up a bit until things get nice and translucent.  Add in your garlic and ginger, and let cook for one minute.  Next, add in your sweet potato and all your spices.  Make sure those spices are evenly coating everything to maximize the flavor of this dish.  Pour in the water, and cover for 12 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are soft.  Add your other vegetables and spinach.  If the spinach is, as Mike Doughty says, "too much bacon for the pan to handle," add it in batches.  Stir things about every once in a while, leaving the pot covered when you're not moving things around.  Let this go on for about 20 minutes, or until most of the water is evaporated and your spinach is cooked down to a super pleasing softness.

Stir in the goat cheese and let it melt and get all heavenly.  I served this meal over quinoa, which held up really nicely alongside it.

I could eat this every day.  Good thing I'm stocked up on my ingredients!

Do you have a meal that you just can't get enough of?

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