Hot sweet potatoMy mother loves to say, "What's old is new again." My wide-leg jeans? My Danish teak furniture? She's seen it all before. One could say the same of my eating habits. I'll feverishly fixate on a dish, only for it to fall out of personal favor a month or two later. But, much like in fashion, I'll cycle back to it years later, seeking the comfort and familiarity of my own bygone eras. Still, I was caught off guard this week by a craving for my Sweet Potato Hash of 2015. As a recent college graduate sharing a kitchen with six (yes, six) roommates, I'd routinely — and quickly — sauté diced sweet potato, red bell pepper and onion, generously season the hash with cumin and ground cayenne, and top it with a fried egg before retreating to my tiny room. I'm different now: older, undoubtedly; wiser, debatable. But I'm wise enough to recognize the genius of Ali Slagle's sweet potato hash with tofu, which features my preferred cast of characters dressed with a little bit of chili powder, quick-pickled raw onion and cilantro or parsley (or both). I historically prepared The Hash in a cast-iron skillet, but Ali smartly uses a sheet pan here for a more hands-off approach. What's old is new, baby. Sweet Potato Hash With TofuThe combination of sweet potato and tofu is a satisfying one — filling, budget-friendly and versatile. Melissa Clark's crisp tofu with sweet potatoes, another sheet-pan number, takes on a slightly different flavor profile: A mixture of tamari (or soy sauce), honey (or maple syrup, for a vegan swap) and rice vinegar is used as both a marinade for the tofu and a final sauce for the dish. Rather than dicing everything, Melissa cuts the potatoes into wedges and the tofu into planks for some nice fork-and-knife eating. Or put away the sheet pan and break out the Dutch oven for — you guessed it — Melissa's sweet potato and tofu stew. Some of the tofu is marinated and stirred into the soup, while the rest is dredged in cornstarch and pan-fried for a crisp topping to offset all of that softness. Although they may not be perfect candidates for a meal-planning Venn diagram, there's a good amount of ingredient overlap among these three recipes. But, hey, maybe you don't want to eat sweet potatoes and tofu all week. Maybe you want to eat them separately. Ali's roasted sweet potatoes and spinach with feta one night, Sue Li's seared tofu with kimchi another? Kay Chun's five-star coconut-caramel braised tofu would just as well do the trick. And I've got my eye on Sarah Jampel's loaded sweet potatoes with black beans and Cheddar, which takes me back to another veggie dinner hyperfixation of yore: roasted sweet potatoes, mashed on a tostada, topped with black beans and green salsa. So good.
Sheet-Pan Crisp Tofu and Sweet Potatoes
Sweet Potato-Tofu Stew
Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Spinach With Feta
Coconut-Caramel Braised Tofu
Loaded Sweet Potatoes With Black Beans and CheddarEmail us at theveggie@nytimes.com. Newsletters will be archived here. Reach out to my colleagues at cookingcare@nytimes.com if you have questions about your account.
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Thursday, October 3, 2024
The Veggie: Sweet potato and tofu, fall’s hot couple
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