Braised Sweet Potatoes with Cilantro-Lime Dressing  

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Serves 4 • Cooking Time 3 to 4 hours on Low or 2 to 3 hours on High • Slow Cooker Size 5½ to 7 Quarts

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Sweet potatoes are highly nutritious, so it’s good to have lots of recipes that use them in your repertoire. They are also very mild in flavor, so they take well to many widely different approaches in terms of seasonings. They are perfect for slow cooking since they are dense and take a while to cook. Here, we chose to cook the sweet potatoes in a braising liquid infused with lemon grass, star anise, and ginger, which gave this superfood super flavor. After the sweet potatoes were tender, we tossed the aromatic and tender potato chunks with a fresh cilantro and lime vinaigrette, which provided a bright and spicy contrast and herbaceous note to the sweet potatoes. You will need an oval slow cooker for this recipe. See the sidebar that follows the recipe.

1	lemon grass stalk, trimmed to bottom 6 inches and bruised with back of knife
2	star anise pods
1	tablespoon grated fresh ginger
	Salt and pepper
2	pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced ½ inch thick
1	tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1	tablespoon packed brown sugar
1	tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1	teaspoon grated lime zest plus 4 teaspoons juice
¼	teaspoon fish sauce
	Pinch cayenne

1. Combine 1 cup water, lemon grass, star anise, 2 teaspoons ginger, and ½ teaspoon salt in slow cooker. Nestle potatoes into slow cooker, cover, and cook until potatoes are tender, 3 to 4 hours on low or 2 to 3 hours on high.

2. Using slotted spoon, transfer potatoes to serving platter. Brush away any lemon grass or star anise that sticks to potatoes and discard cooking liquid. Whisk cilantro, sugar, oil, lime zest and juice, fish sauce, cayenne, and remaining 1 teaspoon ginger together in bowl; season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle dressing over potatoes and serve.

Per serving:
Cal 220
Fat 3.5g
Sat Fat 0.5g
Chol 0mg
Carb 44g
Protein 4g
Fiber 7g
Sodium 280mg