Vegetarian: Sweet Potato & Tempeh Pilaf

Yet ANOTHER storm has made it's way to the Northeast. The sky is gray. The ground is white. It's absolutely freezing. Outside is misery. Inside, I have a new-found appreciation for cooking... the oven is HOT. When I'm done cooking I make sure to prop the oven open so that while the oven cools down, the house warms up. My husband calls it "free heat". Our little kitchen gets so warm and toasty. I've also found that I'm purposely looking for colorful dishes due to the severe lack of color outside. This Sweet Potato & Tempeh Pilaf gets the oven roaring and provides bright orange, purple, and green. Not to mention it's healthy and delicious.

The recipe calls for one baked sweet potato. It seems like a waste of oven space to just bake the lone spud. I recommend baking a few at a time because they make great snacks, quick lunch additions, and quick dinner sides once they are cooked!


If you are new to tempeh, learn more about it here.



Sweet Potato & Tempeh Pilaf
(makes 4 servings)
(about 375 calories per serving)

1 sweet potato, baked
1 cup uncooked pilaf (I used Kashi 7 Whole Grain Pilaf)
2 cups low sodium chicken broth, divided
1 cup water
8 oz tempeh
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tbs sesame oil
2 green onions, thinly sliced

1. Cut sweet potato in half. Wrap each half with tin foil. Place on cookie sheet. Bake sweet potato at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour. Allow to cool slightly. Unwrap tin foil. Remove skin. Chop into bite-sized pieces.

2. Combine uncooked pilaf, 1 cup broth, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer about 20 minutes. If you use rice, or a different pilaf mixture follow directions on the box!

3. Bring 1 cup broth to a boil in a separate sauce pan. Slice tempeh in 4 slices the long way, then 8 slices the short way. This way you end up with bite-sized pieces. Add chopped tempeh to boiling broth. Boil 10 minutes. Drain any remaining broth.









 4. Heat saute pan on medium heat. Add sesame oil, red onion slices and tempeh. Cook until tempeh has browned and onions become soft.







5. Combine cooked pilaf, onion & tempeh mixture, and most of the sliced green onions. Gently stir in sweet potatoes. If you mix them all at the same time, you'll probably end up with mashed potatoes.

5. Sprinkle with with remaining green onions.

6. Enjoy!