The whole thing started when I explained how to root a sweet potato. Then a short time later, I teased you with a sweet potato update, but I still didn’t tell you why I was rooting Mr. Sweet Potato Head.
You don’t have to wait any longer to find out what I’ve been up to with the rooted and grown sweet potato…
Mr. Sweet Potato Head Grew
As miraculous as it may be, I didn’t kill the sweet potato plant. Nope! The roots stayed clear as did the water. Actually, the water was so clear, I never had to change it. All I did was keep adding room temperature water to the mason jar as Mr. Sweet Potato Head drank it up.
As you can tell, the leaves grew large and were so green.
Sweet Potato Shoots Recipe
“Were” is definitely the operative word because the green sweet potato shoots and leaves have been cooked. *gasp*
Let me tell you how I prepared this sweet potato shoots recipe.
First you have to cut the leaves and shoots off the sweet potato. Then rough chop the shoots into a manageable size that will fit in the pan.
Submerge the greens into a boiling pot of water. For thicker shoots, keep them boiling in the water for 1-2 minutes. For young leaves and softer shoots, boil for 30 seconds. Remove the quickly boiled (this is called blanching) greens and put them in a colander to drain.
Now rough chop 5 cloves of garlic for about 5 cups of sweet potato shoots and leaves.
In a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, slowly begin the process of browning the garlic by cooking for 1-2 minutes.
Add the sweet potato shoots and leaves to the browning garlic. Cook on high quickly for a couple of minutes to allow the garlic flavor to permeate the shoots. I also added a dash of salt, pepper and teaspoon of butter for flavor.
Serve as a side dish.
I had the sweet potato shoots and leaves with a steak and eggs. Maybe it sounds like a meal that didn’t really “go” together, but all the dishes sure did taste good.
The garlic and shoots were soft, but not smooshie. I guess a better description would be that they were tender yet still had substance.
What exactly did the sweet potato shoots taste like…
They were mild in flavor. Not bitter. Not shocking to the taste buds. Not overwhelmingly powerful in flavor. Just mild.
However, the shoots and leaves were quite delicious.
Would you like a bite?
You better hurry because they are going fast!
If you are wondering where Mr. Sweet Potato Head is now, I’ll give you the update tomorrow plus some interesting things I’ve learned during his growing process. 🙂
Sweet Potato Shoots Recipe
5 cups sweet potato shoots and leaves, rough chopped
5 garlic cloves, rough chopped
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (or water/chicken stock)
dash of salt (optional)
dash of pepper (optional)
1 teaspoon butter (optional)
Cut the leaves and shoots off the sweet potato. Then rough chop the shoots into a manageable size that will fit in the pan. Submerge the greens into a boiling pot of water. For thicker shoots, keep the greens boiling in the water for 1-2 minutes. For young leaves and softer shoots, boil for 30 seconds. Remove the quickly boiled (this is called blanching) greens and put them in a colander to drain.
Rough chop 5 cloves of garlic. In a tablespoon of garlic oil, slowly begin the process of browning the garlic by cooking for 1-2 minutes.
Add the sweet potato shoots and leaves to the browning garlic. Cook on high quickly for a couple of minutes to allow the garlic flavor to permeate the shoots. Add a dash of salt, pepper and teaspoon of butter for flavor.
Serve as a side dish. Two servings.
The Sweet Potato Posts:
How To Root A Sweet Potato For Garden Planting Or?
Sweet Potato Update, A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words
How Is Mr. Sweet Potato Head Sprouting?
Sweet Potato Shoots Recipe & Mr. Sweet Potato Head
Lessons I Learned From A Sweet Potato, Specifically Mr. Sweet Potato Head
Knew it, you gave him a haircut !!
🙂
😀 Yes, I do remember you guessed it! LOL
I have never heard of this before, They look really good, I will have to try the recipe for my husband, as he loves sweet potatoes. Now to find the shoots/leaves.. Have a wonderful day.
If you can’t find the shoots/leaves, you can always grow them! 😉
Wonderful post + Nice Sharing 😀
Thank you!
oooooohhhh… that looks & sounds delicious! a complete surprise – I never heard of cooking sweet potato shoots! …but this is similar to one way I would cook very young asparagus shoots, or fiddleheads… it’s the middle of the night, but you’ve got my mouth watering! 😀
LOL Keeping this a surprise was really fun! 😛
delicious post, giggle, curious now where he might be,covered in dirt perhaps. xo
🙂 You will soon find out!!!
Oh how sad! He was so beautiful, the only green thing I have ever seen you grow inside. I was so amazed, I wanted to run put one in water!!! Then when you cut them I felt sooooo sad. How could you just eat your plant? Oh the power of our physical appetites!!
The whole reason I sprouted him was to eat him! I don’t want a houseplant!!!
It is amazing that I was able to grow him inside. I even amazed myself. LOL
Your sweet potato shoots recipe looks absolutely delicious and that is exactly the same way that I cook my fresh spinach! I add the garlic gloves but I leave out the oil, salt, pepper and butter. Did I say it was “exactly” the same way I cook my fresh spinach? Well, actually, not exactly. If I added the extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and butter I am sure that my spinach would taste just as good as your sweet potato shoots do! 🙂
Oh yeah, that sounds like you do it “exactly” the same. (rolling eyes) LOL
Actually, spinach is a strong flavor in comparison to sweet potato shoots. I love, love, love the potato shoots even more than spinach!
I wasn’t aware that you could eat sweet potatoe greens. I’ve eaten almost any kind of green out there, but never heard of eating the ones from sweet potatoes. Must try them one day.
Definitely Anita! They are so delicious!