Taco-Spiced Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes come from South America, and they have earned their place on the modern table. Where a regular potato is mostly starch, the sweet potato brings potassium, beta-carotene and vitamin A along with it.

This is a Mexican-inflected way to use them — split, mashed with butter, and filled with taco-spiced beef.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 sweet potatoes
1 lb ground beef
1 onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tomato, grated
1 avocado
1 lime
3–4 tablespoons butter
Salt

Taco spice blend

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Freshly ground black pepper

To serve

Sour cream
Chopped red pepper
Lime wedges

Method

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Pierce the sweet potatoes several times with a fork and roast directly on the rack for 45 to 55 minutes, until completely tender when squeezed.

While they roast, make the filling. Heat a pan over medium heat and cook the onion for 2 to 3 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up, until it has lost its raw color.

Stir in the taco spices and cook for 30 seconds — toasting them in the fat wakes them up.

Add the grated tomato and 1/4 cup hot water. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until the liquid has reduced and the mixture is thick rather than wet.

Split the roasted sweet potatoes down the middle. Add a knob of butter and a pinch of salt to each, mash the flesh lightly with a fork, then pile in the beef.

Top with diced avocado, chopped red pepper and a squeeze of lime. Add sour cream if you like.

Serve hot.