These baked sweet potatoes with spicy chickpeas and green tahini dressing are be ready in 30 minutes – gluten free, vegan, healthy and really satisfying.
Although I am a committed omnivore, I do try to eat a vegan or vegetarian diet throughout the week for lunch. You’d think that as a food blogger working from my kitchen, I would be eating amazing lunches every single day.Well, sometimes I do. Other times, I get so caught up with getting all the shots I can before I lose the light, or editing photos and video, or chasing a deadline, that I eat nothing but toast.
Once I got the hang of ‘baking’ my potatoes in the microwave without burning or undercooking them however, I never looked back. What would normally take up to 40 minutes in an oven, takes less than 10 minutes in a microwave. And if crispy skin is a dealbreaker, you could blast your potatoes in the oven or under the grill (broiler) for a few minutes.
To ‘bake’ potatoes in a microwave, pierce them with a knife tip several times and then rinse them. Wrap in paper towel, place in a microwave-safe plate in a single layer and top with a damp paper towel. Cook for 4 minutes, turn over and cook for another 4 minutes. Depending on the wattage of your microwave and thickness of the potatoes, they will be ready in 8-12 minutes. Sweet potatoes tend to cook a little faster than white potatoes.
I love making baked sweet potatoes in particular – they are so delicious and the base for all kinds of exciting fillings. Making a big batch of the spicy chickpeas is a great way to have something on standby – they are great on top of baked sweet potatoes or served over couscous or rice.
And I am totally addicted to this green tahini dressing. It is so yummy I could eat it off a cracker – and frequently do! Basically a mix of tahini, lemon juice, garlic, oil and herbs, it can be used to liven up a lot of dishes.
It is delicious as a dip too – and if you wanted to make it a bit more substantial you could easily add half an avocado in there. If you want to use it as a dressing you will need to thin it out – rather than add lots more olive oil, I add a bit of water or chickpea brine (aquafaba). You will, in fact, have quite a bit of aquafaba left over with this recipe, make sure to save it and put it to good use by making macarons or vegan chocolate mousse.
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Baked sweet potatoes with spicy chickpeas and green tahini dressing
Ingredients
- Ingredients
- 4 large sweet potatoes
- For the spicy chickpeas
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tbsp sugar leave out if preferred
- 2 x400g | 14oz tins chickpeas drained
- reserve the brine to use in dressing or other recipes
- 1 x 400g | 7oz tin chopped tomatoes
- 200 g | 7oz baby spinach
- 1 tbsp chopped coriander cilantro plus more, to garnish
- Salt and pepper to season
- <br>
- For the green tahini dressing
- 3 heaping tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley
- 2 tbsp coriander cilantro
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp water or aquafaba, as needed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- salt and pepper to season
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a casserole dish and fry the onions over medium-low heat for five minutes.
- Add the garlic and spices and cook for another minute.
- Stir in the tomatoes, tomato purée, sugar, and chickpeas. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens.
- Add the spinach leaves at the end and mix them in until they wilt.
- Stir in a generous handful of chopped coriander (cilantro). Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Make the green tahini dressing: simply pulse all the ingredients in a blender or mini chopper until you have the desired consistency. Thin your dressing with a little water or reserved aquafaba if needed. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Cook the sweet potatoes: pierce them with a knife tip several times and then rinse them. Wrap in paper towel, place in a microwave-safe plate in a single layer and top with a damp paper towel. Cook for 4 minutes, turn over and cook for another 4 minutes. Depending on the wattage of your microwave and thickness of the potatoes, they will be ready in 8-12 minutes.
- Halve the sweet potatoes and fill with the spicy chickpeas.
- Drizzle a little of the green tahini dressing over them and serve.
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Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says
I pretty much live on baked sweet potatoes right now….. I seem to have developed an intolerance to ‘normal’ ones! Weird I know, but then sweet potatoes are better for you, so maybe not such a bad thing!