Feta & Mint Sweet Potatoes.

I dream of someday having a gorgeous tiered herb garden.  Something aesthetically pleasing, yet simple & convenient, full of thriving green seasonings ready for the picking:  rosemary, basil, mint, cilantro, lavender, chives…

(This is not my house.)

…but given that I nearly killed my poor tomato plant this year by allowing it to get “root-bound”, I don’t have high hopes.  I’ve made attempts at herb gardens before.  One was a “pizza spice” set from Wal-Mart which was more successful at growing weeds that accidentally blew into it than any actual spice.  In 2010 I attempted cilantro from seeds…I started with 20 potential little pods… of which 12 sprouted, then 6 died due to heat, and the rest drowned at the young age of 4 inches tall.  Quite sad, really.

Last year I did successfully manage to keep a dwarf rosemary bush alive indoors all year, but once the cooler weather rolled around, our central heating system dehydrated the poor dear.  But I can successfully keep hydroponic green onions alive. Goooooooo me!

So…anyway.  I continue to buy herbs when I need them.  When I bought mint for the SoCojito a while back, that meant the rest of my recipes that week needed to focus on mint as well. 

We went to a BBQ over Independence Day weekend where a friend made a watermelon+mint+feta salad that was pretty freakin’ awesome.  So I came home with the feta+mint pairing on the brain.

The next time we got some decent weather, it was time to bust out the grill.  Well—for the Hubs anyway.  I stuck with the microwave.  This is one of those side dishes that looks really fancy, but it’s just crazy-simple.  It also tastes AMAZING because you’re essentially blowing up your tastebuds with flavor:  tangy feta, acidic lime juice, syrupy brown sugar, and fresh mint & onions… and because the toppings won’t be evenly distributed, every bite is just a little different.

 

INGREDIENTS: (per potato)

1 sweet potato, scrubbed

1 lime wedge

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tbsp crumbled feta

2-3 mint leaves, julienned

1 sprig green onion, chopped

black pepper (to taste)

 

DIRECTIONS:

If you have time, you can grill your sweet potatoes, or oven-roast them.  But we were grilling corn & smoked sausages—neither of which take very long.  So I opted to prepare the sweet potatoes in the microwave.  Poke a few holes in each spud with a fork, then wrap in a paper towel & place in the microwave.  Heat on High for 3 minutes, then flip & go 3 minutes more.  (depending on how many potatoes you’re cooking, you may have to heat longer.  I usually go 3 minutes per potato, but be sure to flip them).

Split open the tops and then squeeze the sides of the potato to open up the top more.  Then squeeze the lime juice across the open face and season with black pepper.  Place the brown sugar next (so it can blend with the lime juice & melt into the potato) and then add the remaining toppings.

 

NutriFacts: (per potato)

Calories 155.4

  Total Fat 3.2 g

  Saturated Fat 2.2 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 0.7 g

  Cholesterol 12.6 mg

  Sodium 200.6 mg

  Potassium 569.5 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 28.7 g

  Dietary Fiber 3.8 g

  Sugars 13.7 g

  Protein 4.4 g