Stupidly Good Kumara Stacks

This kumara recipe is just stupidly good, so it was pretty easy to name.

Here in New Zealand, sweet potatoes are called kumaras.  It took me a while to get the pronunciation down.  Here's my version: koo-ma-rah with an emphasis on the koo.  Awesome, now you're ready to walk around saying "kumara" all day long. ;)

The origin of the kumara is a controversial one.  To give your dinner a bit of historical background, the kumara is believed to originate from South America.  Wait, whaaat!?  South America and New Zealand are very far away from each other.  How did that happen!?

These sweet potatoes are quite the world traveller.

Well, the sweet-potato-debate resides between the belief that Polynesian explorers made their way to South America and traded chickens for kumara in Chile and the belief that South American navigators forged their way across the ocean and left a few signature imports behind, including the special sweet potato of their land.  Researchers and anthropologists have varying hypotheses, but either way, this meal has been through quite the expedition to reach your plate.

Any leftover kumara slices can also be eaten as kumara chips :)

Now that you have a brief family history of what's being eaten tonight, let's talk about the drive you're about to take straight to flavor town.  This kumara recipe was inspired by Minimalist Baker and it is by far one of my all-time favorites.  Nick has perfected our version of it and we are so excited to share this stupidly good dish with you.

Stacks on stacks on staaaacks!

Stupidly Good Kumara Stacks

You can, of course, substitute the kumara with your sweet potato of choice.

PREP TIME                                                           TOTAL TIME

30 MINUTES                                                         45 MINUTES

Don't you just want to reach through the screen and eat it whole?

INGREDIENTS FOR THE KUMARA STACK

Sizzle up that bok choy and onion mix to bring out that killer flavor.

• 2 tbsp sesame oil

• 2 large sweet potatoes (kumara) chopped into slices

• 2 heads of bok choy

• 1 red onion (sliced)

• 2 tbsp chopped coriander (optional)

INGREDIENTS FOR THE SPECIAL SAUCE

• 1 cup sundried tomatoes

• 1 roasted pepper

• 2 whole jalapeños

• 1 chili pepper

• 2 peeled garlic cloves

• 4 unpeeled, baked garlic cloves

• ½ tsp cumin

• ½ tsp paprika

• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

• ¼ cup raw or roasted almonds

• 3 tbsp lime juice

• 2 tbsp maple syrup

• salt to taste

INGREDIENTS FOR THE COLESLAW

• 1 cup spinach

• 1 carrot (cut into thin slices)

• 1 small chopped red onion

• 1 apple cored and sliced

• ¼ cup sunflower seeds

 

INGREDIENTS FOR THE TAHINI DRESSING

• 3 tbsp tahini

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 2 tbsp maple syrup

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• water to thin

• salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1.     Heat oven to 190˚C/375˚F and bake 4 garlic cloves for 10 minutes.  If using raw almonds you can roast these during this process too.

2.     Prepare the sauce by blending all ingredients, adding water until a thick consistency is achieved.  The sauce shouldn’t be smooth, but it will be more of a gritty paste.

You'll have as much satisfaction putting the stacks together as you will eating them.

3.     Whilst the oven is hot, add kumara/sweet potato slices to a bowl and toss with 1 tbsp sesame oil and pinch of salt.  Then add slices to baking trays and bake for 20-25 minutes.

4.     While potatoes are baking, pan fry both bok choy and red onion in the other 1 tbsp of sesame oil for 5-10 minutes until soft.

5.     Prepare coleslaw by tossing spinach, carrot, red onion, apple and sunflower seeds in the tahini dressing.

6.     Serve on a plate, carefully stacking the kumara/sweet potato slices with bok choy mix, then sauce.  Repeat until stack is a few layers high.

7.     Top off the stack with a sprinkle of coriander.

8.     Serve with coleslaw on the side.

9.     Enjoy!

SERVING SIZE: 4 SERVINGS (Kumara Stack and Portion of ColeSlaw)

AMOUNT PER SERVING:

Calories: 501

Fat: 30.7g

Saturated fat: 3.7g

Carbohydrates: 52.5g

Sugar: 21.7g

Sodium: 308mg

Fiber: 10.9g

Protein: 13.3g

And a sprinkle of coriander for good measure!

HAPPY EATING!

Note: We owe a big thank you to Minimalist Baker for all of her inspiration in our recipes.  As we start off as new recipe makers, we need quite a bit of help learning measurements and flavor combinations (and so much more).  Her archive of amazing vegan meals has been a massive contribution to our happy mouths and we hope to pass on the taste-bud blow outs as best as we can.