Hi, foodies in the Hive!

Wishing you all a nice end of the week 😁❤️

How do you like your mashed potatoes/sweet potatoes? Usually, I eat plain mashed potatoes which are usually a side. But if I have the ingredients already, I may make guacamole and serve some on top. Our favorite at home. Now, when it comes to sweet potatoes, I have to think about it, as I usually eat them baked in their peel--which I eat as well--; I don't even add salt. This time I wanted mashed sweet potatoes for a main and only dish; a zucchini and some vegetables solved the problem.

Just yesterday, this dish became a new favorite for us at home. You don't need to use much salt or oil. I'd say it's pretty healthy and so delicious. Also, as it's so soft, it's one of those dishes your babies and grannies can eat 😁

Perhaps you're one of the many people who love sweet potatoes. I am one!

It's one of those functional foods (superfoods, for us laymen) that contributes to our health in many ways, as it has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and also helps us to keep our blood sugar under control.

Translating all this into more familiar language, frequent consumption of sweet potatoes, preferably the one with purple peel (and preferably consuming it with the peel), keeps us one step away from cancer, Alzheimer's, and diabetes.

If you are vegetarian or vegan, sweet potato is your friend, that friend that will bring you a lot of vitamin A, as it's rich in beta-carotene, and it will also give you some vitamin B6 😁 Such a good fellow.

INGREDIENTS

x 2-4 people

I used 2 sweet potatoes (500gr)
1 300 gr zucchini
1 cup onion, julienned
1 cup carrot, julienned
1 cup tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon freshly crushed garlic
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup water
olive oil to sautee
1 tablespoon coconut oil
salt to taste
freshly cracked black pepper to taste
fresh parsley for garnish

I used to use a frying pan that lost its handle, and by lost I mean I dropped it and its handle flew off. It allows me to cook on the stove and then transfer the food to the oven 😁 Get your own pair of clumsy mans and break one of your frying pans to get this versatile kitchen tool 😂🙈

THE PROCESS

Quite a simple process indeed.

SAUCE

I started by sauteeing the onion which I had julienned.

When the onion had begun to brown, I added the julienned carrot.

Tomatoes would help me get a thick sauce...

So I added it chopped once the carrot was a little tender.

I used my old mortar and pestle to crush some garlic cloves.

I used a little water to help me get all the crushed garlic out of the mortar. I added it all to the cooking, and also added the bay leaf.

I added the rest of the water, salt and let it simmer for a few minutes along with the core of the zucchini I had scooped out, while I prepared the rest of the ingredients.

ZUCCHINI BOATS

I washed the zucchini and cut off the edges, cut it in half lengthwise and scooped out the soft core. I used an ice cream scoop. Smooth.

SWEET POTATOES

While the onion was cooking, I washed and peeled two sweet potatoes. Fortunately, we get the best ones here, with a purple peel.

I cut them in pieces of about 7 cm and let them boil in water with a pinch of salt. They were done in 7 minutes or so.

Then it was time to mash! I used a fork because I've been cheap to buy a potato masher, haha. I managed.

By adding coconut oil, I'd get a softer puree, easier to stuff the zucchini boats. And it would add a nice touch too the sweet flavor and aroma of the potatoes, not to mention that coconut oil is also one of our beloved superfoods.

Time to rock the boat 😁

Rub the zucchini boats with olive oil, freshly cracked black pepper, and a little salt.

Distribute the mashed sweet potatoes to stuff the two zucchini boats. Press gentle to get a compact filling.

Use your amazing decorating skills.

Place in a pan on top of the sauce and srinkle some black pepper. With the lid on, let the stuffed zucchini boats cook until you see their flesh have begun to turn tender.

At this point, it's time to put them in the oven for a good broiling. I used my small electric oven; the boats were in for 15 minutes with the broil function at 300° F.

I plated the boats--which sounds really weird--and saw that they needed some green. So I washed some sprigs of parsley, dried them and chopped half of them and used them for granish.