It’s sweet potato Friday! Today, in Always Uttori Food, we’re hopping on the bandwagon of a popular food trend by serving up sweet potato toast. Sweet potato toast is a relatively new trend that came about as a replacement for regular toast. Besides being a healthy alternative to the traditional butter and jam slathered, high-calorie bread slice, sweet potato toast is great for those who suffer from celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. I am so grateful to not have celiac, but I am gluten sensitive; and, as we already know, I love sweet potatoes. Sweet potato toast seems to be a match made in heaven.
The great thing about sweet potato toast is that, unlike a slice of white bread, or gummy wheat bread, the density of the sweet potato allows your imagination to take flight when it comes to topping your toast. Really, the possibilities are endless. That freedom to experiment made testing the various toppings so much fun. If you like sweet potatoes, but haven’t tried sweet potato toast, it’s your lucky day. I will be sharing five sweet potato toast recipes for your tasting pleasure. But, you don’t have to take my word for it, try these recipes for yourself. Go forth in deliciousness!
THe Basics of Sweet Potato Toast
1 large sweet potato, well washed
The toast works best if you cut the potato into lengthwise slices about ¼ inch thick. The recipe I initially used to make the toast suggested toasting the sweet potato in your toaster as a method of cooking. After trying this myself, I wouldn’t recommend it. If this is supposed to be a replacement for toast, especially in the morning, standing around your toaster toasting slices of sweet potatoes for 30 minutes is not a productive start to your day. When attempting this method, I toasted each sweet potato 4-5 times at 6 minutes each, which comes to about 24-30 minutes; and they still weren’t cooked through. My toaster is quite old, and I couldn’t adjust the heat setting, so this may have had something to do with my struggles. I ended up microwaving the slices, which took away the crispness. Anyway, I would recommend slicing the potatoes into the toast shape, then putting them in the oven at 450-degrees for about 20 or 30 minutes. This article describes the process quite well. You can put the toast on a baking sheet, or even on the oven grates. Just be sure to flip them so each side is evenly cooked. Clearly, this recipe is more of a Sunday brunch item rather than a quick fix replacement to morning toast, but it is definitely worth the longer cook time!
Recipe One: Eggs and Avocado
Ingredients
1 egg (or an egg for each slice of toast, depending on how many you are serving)
¼ avocado (or more)
1 TBSP Oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Heat a pan over medium-heat. When the oil is hot, place the egg in the pan and fry. If you like the yolk runny, you may spoon oil over the yolk to create a shell. Salt and pepper to taste.
Slice avocado in half. Salt and pepper to taste.
When your sweet potato toast is done, place the egg and the avocado on top of the toast and enjoy.
Huevos Rancheros
Ingredients
1 egg (or more)
1TBSP oil
Salsa
Sour cream or crème fraiche
¼ avocado (optional)
Cheese (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Heat a pan over medium-heat. When the oil is hot, place the egg in the pan and fry. If you like the yolk runny, you may spoon oil over the yolk to create a shell. Salt and pepper to taste.
When your sweet potato toast is ready, place the egg on top, then add whatever toppings you like: salsa, cheese, sour cream, and or avocado. Additionally, you may add beans and or rice, as is traditional in huevos rancheros. Enjoy!
Kimchi
Ingredients
1 TBSP Kimchi
1 egg (optional)
Rice (optional)
Directions
When the sweet potato toast is done, spoon up some kimchi (see our recipe for kimchi here) and enjoy. Additionally, if you want to add protein, you can fry an egg and or add some rice for a more complete meal. This sounds a little crazy, but works well together as both potatoes, kimchi, and rice often accompany Korean meals as banchan (side dishes).
Jam
Ingredients
Jam of choice
Crème fraiche or clotted cream (optional)
Directions
The classic jam and toast, works just as well on a sweet potato, although it is more like a dessert. Spread your favorite jam over your sweet potato toast, and to add some variety you can add crème fraiche or clotted cream if you have it. Yummy!
Apple and brie
Ingredients
½ apple
Brie cheese
Honey (optional)
Chopped Walnuts (optional)
Directions
When the sweet potato is almost done cooking, add slices of brie to cover and return to oven. Cook until the brie has melted into the toast. Top with apple, and, if desired, drizzle with honey and sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Alternatively, you can just remove the toast from the oven, top with desired ingredients, and enjoy.
Bonus idea:
Smoked Salmon
1-2 slices of smoked salmon
1 tsp cream cheese
½ tsp capers
I didn’t make this recipe because I didn’t have the ingredients on hand, but I often eat smoked salmon for breakfast. When the toast is done, spread with a layer of cream cheese, lay a few slices of smoked salmon on top. If you wish, you may add capers and red onions.