By The kitchen is in full spring mode. The oven at 375 (always 375), the crockpot on the counter, the pantry stocked with jars from last August's canning — the evidence of a woman who preserves summer against winter and loss against forgetting and food against everything.
Thursday was tater tot hotdish, because Thursday is always tater tot hotdish and the schedule doesn't change for anything — not pandemics, not loss, not the passage of years. The tater tots go in at 375 and come out golden and the family eats them and the eating is the Thursday and the Thursday is the structure and the structure holds. But I also made chicken noodle soup earlier this week, because the kitchen doesn't only look backward. The kitchen grows.
The garden is waking up. The garlic that overwintered is pushing green shoots through the soil, the annual proof that buried things come back. Jack's seedlings are hardening off in the greenhouse. The Marlene cherry tomato — generation 6 now — ready for transplanting. Every spring the planting is the memorial. Every spring the name goes back in the ground.
The garlic pushing up through the soil this week is the same garlic I planted last fall — the same act of faith, repeated. And when I wanted something that would honor that, something earthy and warm and worth the waiting, I turned to these twice baked sweet potatoes with roasted garlic and chipotle black beans. They take time. They ask you to stay in the kitchen. That felt exactly right.
Chipotle Black Bean Roasted Garlic Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 1 hr 15 min | Total Time: 1 hr 35 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 4 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed
- 1 whole head of garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for rubbing
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1–2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced (plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
- 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack or sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped (for garnish)
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced (for garnish)
- Lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Roast the garlic and sweet potatoes. Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut the top off the garlic head, drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil, and place on a baking sheet. Rub sweet potatoes lightly with olive oil and prick each several times with a fork. Place on the same baking sheet. Roast for 50–60 minutes, until sweet potatoes are tender and garlic is soft and caramelized. Remove and let cool slightly. Reduce oven to 375°F.
- Prepare the black bean filling. While potatoes cool, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the minced chipotle peppers and adobo sauce, cumin, smoked paprika, and garlic powder. Stir for 30 seconds. Add the black beans, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 4–5 minutes until heated through and slightly thickened. Remove from heat.
- Scoop and mix the sweet potato flesh. Halve the sweet potatoes lengthwise. Carefully scoop out most of the flesh into a large bowl, leaving a 1/4-inch shell. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins directly into the bowl. Add the sour cream and half the cheese. Mash and stir until smooth and well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Fill and top. Spoon the mashed sweet potato mixture back into the potato shells, dividing evenly. Press a generous spoonful of the chipotle black bean mixture into the center of each. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the tops.
- Bake again. Return the filled potatoes to the 375°F oven and bake for 15–20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the tops are lightly golden.
- Garnish and serve. Remove from oven and top with fresh cilantro and sliced green onion. Serve immediately with lime wedges on the side.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 390 | Protein: 13g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 62g | Fiber: 11g | Sodium: 480mg