Kale and Goat Cheese Mashed Sweet Potato. A Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipe

Like me, if you are  sick of serving your guests regular old mashed potatoes, you will love this recipe. This kale and goat cheese mashed sweet potatoes will be the perfect side dish for thanksgiving. And you can easily make it ahead and reheat it in the microwave.

I make this recipe using a variety of greens – spinach, swiss chard, arugula…but kale is my favorite for this recipe. I used a log of herb encrusted chevre cheese because I like the flavor of the herbs. But any kind of good goat cheese will do.

If you like your mashed sweet potatoes to be sweet, add 2 tablespoons brown sugar or maple syrup to this recipe. Serve kale and goats cheese mashed sweet potato with my thanksgiving tofu skin roulade and sage mushroom stuffing.

Kale and Goat Cheese Mashed Sweet Potato Recipe

serves about 4

Ingredients

2 lb (about 2 large) sweet potatoes or garnet yams
4 cups shredded kale
4 oz goat cheese
1 cup milk
Salt, freshly cracked black pepper

Method
Peel the sweet potato or yams. Cut into even sized 1 inch cubes. Place the sweet potatoes in a large pot filled with water. Boil uncovered for 15 minutes or till they are very soft.

Drain the sweet potatoes well and leave them in the colander.

In the same pot, add the kale, goats cheese and milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer till the kale has just wilted. Add salt and pepper. Turn off heat.

Add the cooked sweet potatoes to the hot kale and milk. Mash well. If the mashed sweet potato is too thick, add more milk to thin it out to your liking.

Sweet Potato Samosa Pops

It seems like pops (food on sticks) are every where. Starbucks recently came out with cake pops. And the amazingly talented Bakerella has made cake pops into an art form . I’m jumping on the pop band wagon with this savory sweet potato samosa pops recipe! Yay! for samosa on a stick!

Im modernizing the Indian samosa by using sweet potato, making it mini sized, and putting on a lollipop stick.

You could also use this recipe for making regular potato samosas, green pea samosa, or pumpkin samosa. Whatever samosa filling you use, make sure you dont over stuff the puff pastry. Also make sure your lollipop sticks are oven-safe before baking! 

I use puff pastry because it’s so delicious and easy (and its vegan). You could ofcourse use your favorite samosa shell recipe if you have one.

An egg wash will make the surface of the samosa pops beautifully golden. Vegans can leave out this step and still get great tasting samosas.

I serve samosa pops with the same sauces one would use for regular samosas – tamarind chutney and mint chutney. This recipe goes to the Chez Cayenne’s House Favorites: Vegan event.

Sweet Potato Samosa Pops Recipe

Makes 20 pops

1 large Sweet potato (substitute with regular potato or ¾ cup peeled, cooked butternut squash or pumpkin)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
½ tablespoon minced ginger
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon, or to taste red chile powder
¼ teaspoon coriander powder
¼ teaspoon garam masala
1/8 teaspoon aam choor or mango powder (substitute with 1/2 teaspoon lime juice)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Salt
2 sheets of puff pastry, thawed for about 30 minutes.
1 egg (vegans leave this out)
1 tablespoon milk (vegans leave this out)

20 six inch lollipop sticks (I used ‘Candymaker’ brand; it is oven-safe)

Pre heat oven to 400f

Wrap the sweet potato in a paper towel and microwave on high for about 4 minutes or till the sweet potato is cooked through. When it is cool enough to handle, peel the skin and lightly mash.This is the easiest way to cook and prepare a sweet potato for this recipe. Alternatively, you could peel, cube, and boil the sweet potato in water till tender. You need about 3/4th cup of cooked and peeled sweet potato.

While the sweet potato is cooking, heat the oil in a medium sauce pan. Add cumin seeds. When they start to sizzle, add the chooped onion and cook on medium heat till onions are lightly browned. Then add the ginger and garlic and cook for about a minute. Add turmeric, chilli, coriander powders, garam masala, and aam choor. Stir for about 30 seconds, taking care not to burn the spice powders. Turn off heat. Add the mashed sweet potato, cilantro and salt. Mix well. Taste and adjust salt and seasonings.

Lay out the thawed puff pastry on a clean work top. Measure out 2 inch squares. Using a sharp knife, cut the puff pastry sheets into 2 inch squares. You should have about 40 squares.

(If you have any odd sized bits of puff pastry left over after cutting, simply bake the scraps without filling, along with the rest of the samosas. You can snack on these!)

Press a lollipop stick onto the center of 20 of the squares. Mound 1 teaspoon of the sweet potato filling on top of the squares with the lollipop sticks. Don’t over fill.

Cover these with the other 20 squares of puff pastry. Gently stretch them a little so they fit over the filling mound. Using the tines of a small fork, press down and seal all the edges. Make sure they are sealed well. (Look at photos above).

(If you wish to freeze the samosa pops, you can do so at this point. Lay out the samosa pops on a single layer and place in the freezer. Once they are frozen hard, remove the samosa pops and put them in a zip lock bag, and return to the freezer for future use.)

Lay the samosa pops on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Whisk together the egg and milk in a small bowl. Brush this egg wash over the samosas.

Bake in a 400f oven, for 15 minutes or till puff pastry is golden.

Serve with store bought tamarind chutney.

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