My Baby Got G-Nut Special Sauce and Sweet Potatoes

So yeah: I wasn't sure if the VT title of this recipe (G-Nut Special Suace and Sweet Potatoes) was actually trying to be hip and punny and allude to G. Love and Special Sauce or whether that was just accidental (I suspect it was probably just highly highly accidental myself, given VT's track-record with naming recipes) but regardless: when I saw this reader-created recipe, it sounded too good to pass up.

And it *was* good, though not phenomenal enough to warrant honorable mention in a reader-recipe contest in my opinion (you bad-ass vegan recipe-makers out there have come up with some recipes that BLOW this out of the water). The peanut sauce in particular confused me. It was actually not very good on its own, though much tastier when actually added to the recipe. I'm a big fan of peanut sauces, and I've tasted MANY a better peanut-sauce. So I'm not sure what the deal was with that.

The only other thing that disgruntled me about this recipe was the serving sizes. Supposedly the recipe makes enough for two servings. And I *know* I can be a fricking pig when it comes to cowing down dinner. But seriously: the portion size seemed WEAK on these. I was hungry within just a couple hours of eating thIS (you can probably see what I'm saying from the picture above).

All that being said, the combination of ingredients in this--spinach, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, peanuts, peanut-sauce--DOES make for a flavorful roller-coaster ride for the tongue. So I'd recommend it in that regard (especially since it's not an extremely complicated recipe). Just don't expect it to send you barreling into a week-long orgasm or anything.

INGREDIENTS:

G-Nut Special Sauce

• 1/2 c. low-sodium vegetable broth


• 2 1/2 T. smooth peanut butter


• 2 t. tomato paste


• 1 t. lemon juice


• 1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 tsp.)

Sweet Potatoes

• 2 medium-size sweet potatoes


• 2 t. peanut oil (I used sesame oil)


• 1 medium-size onion, minced (about 1 1/4 c.)


• 1/2 c. cooked chickpeas


• 1 5-oz. pkg. fresh spinach


• 1 t. ground cumin


• 1/2 t. lemon juice


• 1/4 t. salt


• 1/4 t. turmeric


• 1/4 cup roasted, salted peanuts

DIRECTIONS

Combine broth, peanut butter, tomato paste, lemon juice and garlic in small pan, and simmer over low heat 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.

Poke holes all over sweet potatoes with fork. Microwave on high 7 to 10 minutes, or until soft; let cool in microwave.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion 4 minutes, or until beginning to brown. Add chickpeas, and sauté 2 minutes more. Stir in spinach, reduce heat to low, and simmer 3 to 5 minutes, or until spinach is wilted.

Scoop sweet potato flesh into bowl, and mash with cumin, lemon juice, salt and turmeric.

Ladle sweet potato mixture into two bowls. Top with chickpea-spinach mixture, and cover with G-Nut Special Sauce. Garnish with peanuts, and serve warm.

(Original recipe from The Vegetarian Times)