Things I Eat: Sweet Potato Burger

At some point, I had a mental shift in food preparation. Rather than looking for recipes, I started to smell and think about flavor and then blending those things together to see what would happen.

This is the core of how I eat.

I am a bad, accidental vegan. I think raw, vegan food is actually pretty good and easy.

But, sometimes it’s hard to find food that I can eat, even if it is vegan. I mean, I can’t do wheat or soy. . .or beans. Or. ..cranberries. . . yeast.

I recently discovered sweet potatoes. Like most people I know, this was a Thanksgiving Day type dish that was boiled and mashed with maple syrup, marshmallows, butter and loads of brown sugar.

I also had sweet potato fries – which might have been yams, but, in America, who knows. WHO KNOWS!

Yam and sweet potatoes can be eaten raw. Sweet potato is dense and slightly sweet. It works super-well with a little salt (to bring out the sweet) and garlic. I thought to myself, wouldn't this make a delicious burger? And I looked on the Internet to see what people do with the term “Yam Burger.”

Then I was like – this looks like it takes a lot of work. So I came up with my own take on the yam burger which involves less blending the yam into a patty.

I also thought about what flavors I like when I eat a burger – garlic, salt, basil. What about a kick of red pepper? BOOM. I headed to the store.

My real problem was the bun – I wanted a bread. That’s part of what makes a burger so delicious, the squishy, dry kick of a nice bun. I need to avoid wheat – the rice bread I have had sucks – and I didn't want something so dense like a Mestemacher Fitness Bread. So, I got this oat bread. It really is made of wheat – you always got to check the label – but it was vegan so I knew I was avoiding dairy, at least.

I figured I could do one bun and be able to handle the yeast and wheat. I was right. 

You probably don't have that problem. So..any bun will do!

Mostly Raw Vegan Sweet Potato Burger with Jicama Fries

What You Need

• 1 sweet potato (pick a fat one, not a skinny one)
• 1 jicama (hick-a-ma)
• 1 red pepper
• Spinach
• Bread or a roll
• Olive oil
• Sea salt
• Basil (dried or fresh)
• A couple garlic cloves (or garlic powder)
• Spices – whatever you like: Oregano, chili powder, turmeric, onion powder, pepper, paprika – or nothing else!
• Fresh chives (I had some on hand, they add a fresh flavor, but, totally optional)

Do This

• Skin the yam and cut out a “patty” sized chunk from the center. (It’s actually easier to cut it THEN peel the patty). If you aren't full of sloth, warm up a pan with some olive oil and cook the yam for about two minutes on each side - not too much, though, you want it firm/raw in the middle for the right texture. Season with a little garlic powder (I like garlic) and salt. Or, just season the raw yam if you enjoy sloth as much as me.
• Take you jicama and peel off the skin – it is NOT delicious or editable and might be toxic when ingested. Cut it up into French fry looking things. Coat with olive oil, salt and garlic (and whatever other spices you might like – turmeric if you want yellow fingers – or basil, whatever!) and pop into a toaster oven at 400 to warm. You can keep it in there as long (until it burns) or short as you want. I like it slightly warm.
• Take the red pepper, a clove or two of garlic (the more you use, the spicier it will taste), the basil and any other spices you like and put it in a blender. Add olive oil  and blend that stuff in a food processor. You can make it as chunky or smooth as you would like.
• Take your yam patty and pop it between the bread, get a nice scoop of red pepper salsa stuff on the top. Shove some spinach in there, too. Taste your jicama and add whatever you want and then go to town getting it into your mouth.

Left over yam? Whoa! Peel it with your peeler into strips to make a yam salad – just throw in some spinach, garlic powder, olive oil and maybe basil and eat it for lunch!