I don't have a complete photo for this unfortunately since it's all gone...I did fine an old photo of the sweet potatoes, so I'm including it here, but the tempeh rests well in the tummies of many happy people... so I write this recipe brokenheartedly in its memory. At some point, I'm sure I'll make it again, but it was too delicious to save for a photo.
Alas. (insert sigh) Here we go.
Picture this...warm, sweet, and heartwarming sweet potatoes served with a side of caramelized, garlic and ginger spiced tempeh. Perfect for autumn. Actually, perfect for a rainy day smack in the middle of summer, which is how I served it last night.
It's actually really simple to make things taste good when they are in its pure form - just grains, just veggies, just fruits, just simple ingredients that come from natural sources. It's when we add the unidentified fillers and random non-digestible particles to help give an item shelf life that we run into trouble.
For this dish to work out, you have to time things well. I bake the sweet potatoes earlier in the day so they're ready to go when I'm hungry, but I leave the in the oven so they stay warm. 30 minutes before dinner, I start on the marinade, then bake the tempeh, and make the fluffed potato mash as the tempeh cooks. Then in no time, it comes together. It's a good plan to follow. I've made the recipe below to follow this order.
Bake sweet potatoes:
You'll need 4 medium sized sweet potatoes. Scrub them under running water, puncture them with a fork many times, and wrap each one in aluminum foil. I bake mine in a convection oven at 350 degrees, for about 1 hour. I recheck them, and depending on the size, they might need an extra 30 minutes or so. You want them soft to the touch. Also, you can bake them for 1 hour, and just leave them in the oven with the temperature off. By dinnertime, they'll be done and ready to mash.
Tempeh: You'll need two rectangular packages of tempeh, any flavor, preferably organic, cut into 1 inch strips (on the short side, so there are many short strips instead of a few longs trips). Tempeh tends to be a bit bitter, so I typically steam if for a few minutes as I'm getting the marinade ready. It softens the tempeh a bit and helps it absorb the marinade well, and gets rid of that bitter taste.
Mix the following ingredients well in a glass ovenproof casserole dish:
4 T maple syrup
3 T tamari
2 T toasted sesame oil
1 T raw apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, or balsamic vinegar
1 T mirin (optional)
1 inch ginger, grated fine
2 garlic cloves, grated fine
Freshly ground Black Pepper, and a dash of cayenne
Place the tempeh in the same dish and coat with the marinade. Bake at 350 degrees in the center of your oven for roughly 15 minutes or so, until most of the marinade is absorbed in the tempeh, and it begins to brown a bit.
As the tempeh cooks, make the sweet potato mash:
Your already-baked sweet potatoes
3 T coconut water
dash of cinnamon, curry powder, and/or clove powder, to taste
1 T maple syrup or raw local honey (optional)
dash of celtic sea salt
black pepper, to taste
If you don't mind the look of it, just mash the sweet potatoes together with the peels and all. It will taste more hearty and will be more packed with fiber and nutrients from the peel. If you don't care for the peel, scoop out the sweet potatoes and just mash the insides into a whipped consistency. Add the remaining ingredients to the potatoes. On the side, heat in a dry cast iron skillet 2 T unsweetened dried coconut flakes and 2 T slivered almonds until fragrant and semi-toasted (you have to watch it really well since they can burn quite easily). Shake the pan often and watch it like a hawk. When done, scatter this beautiful mixture over your sweet potatoes.
Take the tempeh out and serve on the side. This is so complete, you'll devour it. Enjoy!
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