grilled sweet potato stuffed with BBQ baked beans + cilantro yogurt
This really is the best time, isn't in? Right now. The days that are still warm but the nights get a little chilly. The markets are bursting with end of summer/ beginning of fall produce. You can still make yourself a juicy tomato sandwich for lunch, but then can roast up some squash or sweet potatoes for dinner.
It's still grilling season, and some might argue it's the best time to grill, when the sun is not beating down on you. I personally love to hang by the grill with a glass of red wine on a chilly night. It's also around this time that I start to crave more warming foods ..... things like soups, stews, and stuffed sweet potatoes. I think sweet potatoes are one of the best vehicles for a full-on, hearty, vegggie entree. It's so easy to just throw a potato on a grill or in the oven, cook it until it's tender, and then (over)fill it with whatever your mood strikes, or whatever you have in your fridge.
This time of year also has me trying to work through my pantry, get rid of some of the stuff I accumulated over the spring and summer ..... like, for example, that fancy bbq sauce I picked up at some speciality store, or the heirloom beans that I seem to be collecting (ahem, hoarding). A recipe like this is great for working through those random pantry bits, to make more room for some winter hibernation pantry foods.
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grilled sweet potato stuffed with BBQ baked beans + cilantro yogurt
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Servings: 2 servings (as an entrée)
INGREDIENTS
2 large sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons of sunflower oil (or any neutral high-heat oil)
1 red onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can of black beans, drained
1 cup of (your favorite) bbq sauce (store bought, or homemade)
6oz of plain greek yogurt (coconut yogurt to make this dairy-free)
2 tablespoons of minced shallots
¼ teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
½ cup of cilantro leaves (plus more for garnish)
METHOD
- Pre-heat the grill to medium heat.
- Wrap the sweet potatoes in Reynolds Wrap® Aluminum Foil individually, so they are completely covered. Place them onto the grill, cover, and cook for 45minutes - 1 hour. You want the potatoes to feel very soft inside the foil. When they are done, remove them from the grill and keep them in the foil until you‘re ready to assemble and serve.
- Make the beans while the potatoes are baking. Heat the oil in a medium sized pan over medium heat. Add the onions, and cook for 7-10 minutes until soft and starting to brown. Add the garlic and cook for another two minutes. Then, add the beans and bbq sauce. Stir to combine the ingredients, bring the heat to low and continue cooking for another couple of minutes to heat all of the ingredients.
- Make the cilantro cream. Place the yogurt, shallots, salt, and lemon juice into a food processor and pulse several times until smooth. Add in the cilantro leaves and pulse just a couple of times until they are chopped and incorporated.
- Assemble the the potatoes. Cut a slit down the center (lengthwise) of the potato and gently pull the sides apart just enough to create a well for the beans. Then add a couple spoonfuls of the bbq beans, and finish with a drizzle of the cilantro cream. Garnish with some roughly chopped cilantro leaves.
** Reynolds Kitchens Tip: Using Reynolds Wrap® Aluminum Foil to cook the potatoes allows the caramelized juiced to stay close to the potato, which keeps it moist and flavorful.