Sweet potatoes add good taste, a splash of color and a slew of important nutrients to your dinner table. Each 3.5 oz. serving supplies twice your daily requirement of vitamin A, 42 percent of your daily vitamin C requirement, 8 percent of your daily thiamine requirement and calcium, iron and fiber. When you cook sweet potatoes after peeling, prevent the loss of essential nutrients, especially the water soluble vitamins C and thiamine, by cooking them quickly, using little to no additional liquid.
Oven Roasting
Step 1.
Spray a baking dish with vegetable oil spray.
Step 2.
Arrange peeled sweet potato slices in a single layer in the baking dish.
Step 3.
Baste the tops of the sweet potato slices with olive oil and season them with a sprinkling of black pepper.
Step 4.
Preheat your oven to 400 F and bake the sweet potatoes for 15 to 20 minutes.
Step 5.
Turn the slices with a spatula and continue baking the sweet potatoes for another 15 to 20 minutes, until they are fork tender.
Steaming
Step 1.
Add 1 to 2 inches of water to a saucepan or vegetable steamer and bring the water to a full boil on your stove.
Step 2.
Add sweet potato slices or strips to a steamer insert or basket.
Step 3.
Set the steamer insert or basket over the boiling water and cover the pan.
Step 4.
Steam the sweet potatoes for about 10 minutes or until the slices are fork tender.
Things You Will Need
Baking dish
Vegetable oil spray
Basting brush
Olive oil
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. black pepper
Spatula
Fork
Saucepan or vegetable steamer
Steamer basket
Tip
To prepare sweet potatoes for cooking, scrub each potato with a vegetable brush under cold running water. Peeling will be easier – and less dangerous – if you use a vegetable peeler, rather than a paring knife to peel the potatoes. Slice the sweet potatoes into 1/2-inch thick slices or cut them into french fry size strips.
