Sweet potatoes often make the top 20 list of nutritious foods due to their high vitamin A content, vitamin C, complex carbohydrates, and fiber. They provide potassium and are low in fat and sodium. And all for about 130 calories in one medium sweet potato.
Make quick work of mashing sweet potatoes by using an inexpensive potato ricer and your microwave oven. If you've never seen a ricer, it looks like a giant garlic press. The only other ingredients you need in this version of mashed sweet potatoes are orange juice and cinnamon:
- Wash outside skins of sweet potatoes under clean, running water. Rub briskly -- scrubbing with a clean brush or hands -- to remove dirt and surface microorganisms. Don't use soap or detergent.
- Bake sweet potatoes in your microwave according to the directions that come with your oven. For best results, choose uniform-size sweet potatoes so they bake at the same rate. Before baking, pierce washed sweet potatoes with a fork to allow steam to escape as they are heated.
- Cut baked sweet potatoes horizontally (no need to remove the skin!) into 2 to 3 sections, depending on the length of the potato. Lift and move sweet potatoes with tongs to prevent burning your fingers.
- Place sections with the cut end down, one at a time, in the ricer.
- Press down on ricer to push the sweet potato through the holes, leaving the skin behind.
- Remove the skin and repeat for each section.
- Mix in a little orange juice until the desired consistency. Season to taste with cinnamon.
- If mashed potatoes have cooled more than you like, reheat them briefly in the microwave.
Source:
Getting More Uses Out of The Vitamin-Packed Sweet Potato, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
