Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Quinoa and Kale Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why do you soak sweet potatoes before baking? ›

The cold water bath helps rinse the starch off the sweet potatoes so they're a bit more crispy. That said, if you do not have the time, you can still get crispy baked sweet potato fries by using high heat and a little drizzle of olive oil.

I've found that sweet potatoes really need space for a truly roasted, crisped-edge result. Aim for about one inch of space between pieces. This leads to good, dry, hot airflow that will let the potato pieces' moisture evaporate while letting them dry and crisp up more.

When you bake sweet potatoes, the peel's nutrition value decreases. Also, approximately two-thirds of the antioxidants are lost but microwaving or boiling is gentler. The remainder of the sweet potato is the same way. Baking can also reduce vitamin A levels by 80%, twice as much as boiling.

However, when it comes to using soaking as a means to prevent oxidation, it's unnecessary to soak sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes can be diced or peeled, and stored in the refrigerator for several days without changing color. White and yellow potatoes, on the other hand, will oxidize much easier.

Whether or not you peel the potato is completely personal preference; we leave ours on as I enjoy the texture. If you are serving children or sensitive eaters, consider peeling the sweet potatoes before roasting. Cut Uniform-ish Pieces.

The answer to the problem is to just bake the sweet potato longer, until it's soft to the touch. Soaking will not help soften your sweet potato unless you are putting the potato and water in a pot on the stove and cooking it. If your sweet potato is still hard it's not cooked enough.

Cut into evenly sized pieces: Cutting the sweet potatoes into evenly sized pieces will help them cook more evenly and prevent soggy centers. Boil or steam: Boiling or steaming the sweet potatoes until they are tender, but not too soft, will help prevent them from becoming soggy.

One of the phenols, called chlorogenic acid, is the culprit that makes sweet potatoes, and sometimes, regular potatoes darken when they're cooked. The chlorogenic acid combines with iron ions in the potato and oxygen absorbed from the atmosphere and cooking water, creating the dark pigment.

Less time than the oven: Baked sweet potatoes take only about 30 minutes in the air fryer versus 60-80 minutes in the oven. Easy to make: All you really need are a couple of sweet potatoes and an air fryer! Healthy: Sweet potatoes provide plenty of nutritional benefits.

What is the healthiest method to cook sweet potatoes? ›

Boiling may theoretically be best, but sweet potatoes are so incredibly healthy that the actual best way to prepare them is whichever way will get you to eat the most of them! The exception is deep frying, which can lead to the formation of acrylamide, a potential human carcinogen.

Boiling sweet potatoes retains more beta-carotene and makes the nutrient more absorbable than other cooking methods such as baking or frying. Up to 92% of the nutrient can be retained by limiting the cook time, such as boiling in a pot with a tightly covered lid for 20 minutes.

Boil the sweet potatoes in a large stockpot until soft, about 25 minutes; drain. When cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes and transfer them to a large bowl. While the potatoes are still warm, add the butter, cream, agave, cinnamon and salt, and mash until smooth. Sprinkle with the orange zest.

Pierce potatoes all over with the tines of a fork and bake in oven, directly on rack, until soft and caramelizing, 1 1/2 hours. Slash the tops of potatoes open with the tip of a sharp knife and push ends of each potato toward each other to open. Divide butter, salt, and pepper among potatoes and serve.

Why use salt water for soaking potatoes? There's moisture naturally found in potatoes, and moisture is drawn to higher concentrations of salt. (This is a process called osmosis.) So, if you put the potatoes in a salt water bath, that will help draw out some of their moisture, resulting in crispier fries.

The reason is to prevent the potatoes exposure to air, which causes dehydration, oxidation, and discoloration. Immersing cut potatoes will also help rinse off excess starch.

Wrapping sweet potatoes in foil helps in a few ways. It prevents the exterior of the tuber from drying out and overheating too quickly, which would minimize enzymatic activity; it also results in a more evenly cooked texture.

To remove excess starch, place cut sweet potatoes into cold water making sure the cut surfaces are submerged. This step is especially recommended for "kinton" (Japanese-style mashed sweet potato) and other lightly seasoned dishes where a delectable color is desired. Soaking time of about 5 minutes is sufficient.