Super Foods Unite! Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Pancetta and Kale

Sweet potatoes are awesome!  Kale is awesome!  Pancetta is awesome ‘cuz it’s like bacon for grown-ups! 

Combine them and you get one wicked side dish, or an easy weeknight supper for after you’ve-worked-all-day-and-then-gone-to-yoga-and-you’re-super-hungry-and-those-darn-supper-fairies-never-showed-up-to-leave-you-a-home-cooked-meal. 

And the kale and sweet potato parts are good for you too!  Doesn’t Canada’s Food Guide recommend you eat an orange and a green vegetable every day?  This recipe gives you both!  

I’ve already made this twice, and I will definitely be making it again. 

 Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Pancetta and Kale

(adapted from Food Network)

 

2 sweet potatoes

~75 gm diced pancetta (I used half of a 150 gm package from Superstore)

1/2 bunch of kale, stems trimmed and roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, grated

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

150 gm of light ricotta cheese (I used about a quarter of a 400gm container… but that didn’t look like enough cheese for me, so I added another 1/8)

1 tbsp parmesan

Freshly grated nutmeg (can get whole cloves at the Bulk Barn)

 

Wash sweet potatoes well and pierce with a fork.  You don’t want them to explode in the microwave.   I also cut off the bad looking parts.  Put on a plate and microwave until soft, about 12 minutes. 

While the potatoes are cooking, heat a pan on medium heat and cook hte pancetta until brown and crisp.  Remove pancetta with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.  Leave the fat in the pan!!!  Add the kale to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes.  Add the garlic and red pepper flakes.  Cook another three minutes or until the kale starts to get crispy and turn a little brown in spots.

Meanwhile, make the cheese mixture by combining ricotta, parmesan, and nutmeg in a bowel.

Assemble potatoes: cut them in half lengthwise and fluff with fork.  Top with a little less than half the cheese mixture, half the kale, the remaining half of cheese, and pancetta.  Serves two. 

Tip:  When trimming the stems off the kale, fold the leaf in half and cut the stem out.

Enjoy!  Happy Monday!