I like my sweet potato savory, thank you very much! The base of today’s casserole is loaded with flavors like garlic, cilantro and some other extra spices.It is stuffed with my favorite minced beef stuffing.
Servings 4servings
Ingredients
For the sweet potato spread:
500gsweet potato washed and roughly cut into big pieces. *
Water for boiling
½cupunsweetened almond milk *
1tspsalt
½tspwhite pepper
½tspgarlic powder
1tsponion powder
1tbspsweet paprika powder
Finely grounded KaakLebanese cracker *
For the beef stuffing:
200 to 300glean minced beeflow fat
1big onionfinely diced
½tbsp.grapeseed oil*
1tspsalt
Seasoning mix: ½ tsp 7 spices½ tsp sweet pepper, ½ tsp cinnamon powder, ½ tsp garlic powder.
¼cuppine seedsoptional
¼cuppomegranate molasses *
Instructions
For the sweet potato spread:
Start by boiling the sweet potato, put sweet potato in a deep pot with water until it is all covered, add some salt and keep on high heat until it starts boiling. When it starts boiling lower to medium and let it boil for 15 -20 minutes.
Remove from heat and drain well and set it aside to cool down so you can touch it.
In a deep bowl and a hand masher or in a food processor, add the sweet potato and add all the remaining ingredients: milk, salt and spices except the grounded Lebanese kaak. *
And pulse several times until everything is mixed and you have a well combined sticky kind of dough or like a thick smoothie.Set aside.
For the beef stuffing:
While the sweet potato is boiling and cooling start preparing your stuffing.Preheat on high heat a skillet with the grapeseed oil.
Add the onions and cook through until transparent.Add the beef and break it into small crumbs with your wooden spatula until you break everything into small chunks while cooking.
When the whole beef mixture starts to have a light brown color.Add all the spices and salt and mix it all through. Add the pine seeds.
Keep cooking until everything is well mixed and cooked for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally each 2 to 3 minutes.Drizzle the pomegranate molasses on the top and give it one more minute while stirring so the beef absorbs the pomegranate aroma.Turn off the heat and set aside.
Assembly and baking:
Preheat oven on 180 C◦.In a 25x25 cm square casserole oven dishDivide the sweet potato mixture into two parts. Spread one part in the bottom of the dish.Top it with the minced beef filling.Than spread the second part of the sweet potato mixture.Sprinkle on the top the grounded Lebanese cracker until it is evenly covered.And bake it in the oven for 15 minutes to 20 minutes until it is set and the cracker topping start to get a golden-brown color.Remove from oven and let it sit for 20 minutes until set, cut serve and enjoy!
Notes
* i like to wash well the sweet potato and boil it skin on and blend it with it also without peeling. because the skin has as much nutrition benefits as the flesh if not more. * you can use instead of almond milk , any vegan milk or normal dairy cow milk. * the grounded kaak can be found in the Lebanese or Arabic section of the grocery store. you can find grounded bags ready to use or you will find the whole Lebanese crackers (kaak) and grounded at home and maybe enjoy some dipping in tea as we do ! :) check this link for more info about our delicious kaak and if you cannot find it anywhere you can easily replace it with any bread crumbs or grounded oat or panko bread . *I use grape seed oil for cooking for its health benefit but you can use any oil of your liking instead , try to use a neutral oil with minimum flavor.