Y’all, this one is reeallly good. I made it about an hour ago and I rushed to my computer to blog about it, because it is THAT good. And it is so easy. Easy prep, easy cook, easy clean-up! What more could you ask for?
I got the inspiration for this dish from one of the girls I follow on Instagram. (Ps. if you don’t already follow me @ mindtotable, you totally should! Just sayin’.) However, I put my own twist on it by making a fresh, homemade pico and a generous sprinkling of cilantro (I really, really like cilantro. I actually had a spinach-cilantro-cucumber-ginger juice earlier today, but that’s another subject.)
I used a mandoline to cut the sweet potatoes, and I would highly suggest using one. If you don’t have one, it’s definitely possible to just use a knife, but I’ve found that I get very inconsistent slices with a knife, mostly because I don’t have the hand strength to get through a sweet potato most of the time. This makes for very unevenly cooked sweet potato crisps where the edges are burnt while the middle is soft. (The exact texture of every single one of my attempts at sweet potato fries). However, if you are more ept with a knife than I am, go for it!
Look at that freshness! I especially love how every ingredient in this dish is a plant. It reminds me of my favorite Michael Polland quote. One that I try to utilize in every day life. “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” This dish is a perfect embodiment of Polland’s ideology- delicious ingredients from the earth in a reasonable portion! Did I mention it was extremely easy?
To make it even easier, you could just buy pico de gallo-like salsa from the store, but this way tastes much much better, and is incredibly easy on it’s own. You probably already have the ingredients in your fridge!
Ingredients: (feeds two)
- One large sweet potato (if you can, look for one that is relatively flat)
- Three medium sized tomatoes
- One ripe avocado
- Half of one white onion
- Juice from one lime
- Tiny bunch of cilantro
- Salt and Pepper
- EVOO
To make the Pico de gallo:
- Chop the tomatoes into tiny cubes, finely chop the onion, and chiffonade the cilantro.
- Put above ingredients into small bowl, add lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.
- Marvel at how easy that was, and let salsa rest in the fridge for about an hour (if you can)
Cook:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
- Using a mandoline, slice sweet potato into thin, chip-like slices.
- Place sweet potato crisps onto a baking sheet, drizzle with EVOO and season with salt and pepper.
- Cook sweet potatoes for 10-15 minutes, flipping as necessary. Keep an eye on them, they go from ready to burnt real quick.
- Transfer crisps onto plate and top with mashed avocado and pico de gallo. Sprinkle with a generous amount of cilantro and some freshly cracked pepper
That’s it! Told ya it was easy!
I had this for dinner, and was very satisfied, I think the avocado gives it a real body that can stand on its own as a meal. If you have a bit more of an appetite, this would make an awesome appetizer, it’s basically a healthier version of chips and guac/salsa. If I were to make this for others, I’d definitely have it as a yummy appetizer before fajita night. Keeping with the mexican/spanish mood, this would make an incredible tapa! (Tapas are just about my favorite thing ever. Who doesn’t like to sample a little bit of everything?)
Gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, deliciousness!
Try it for yourself and let me know what you think!
-Pam
mindtotable.com 