Sweet Potatoes with Warm Black Bean Salad

Nanna, Pappy, Owen and I had a great day at the avocado festival today in Carpinteria. For dinner I decided to make a meal that included these creamy nutrient packed local fruits. I found a recipe on http://www.everydayhealth.com/ for sweet potaotes with savory spices and black beans. It called for a sour cream and cilantro garnish, which to me, screams, "Add Avocado!" Depending on the size of your sweet potatoes, this meal could be very filling on it's own. I, however always make too much food and we had some small potatoes, so I made a side of quinoa with broccoli and tofu in a home made almond vinegrette dressing, which was a very protein loaded nutty flavored dish. Which was good, but not necessary as I am pretty full typing this right now!

Sweet Potatoes with Warm Black Bean Salad

4 potato(es), sweet
15 ounce(s) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 medium tomato(es), diced (I used 1 large heirloom tomato)
1 tablespoon oil, olive, extra virgin
1 teaspoon cumin, ground
1 teaspoon coriander, ground
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup(s) sour cream, reduced-fat
1/4 cup(s) cilantro, fresh, chopped
1 avocado, diced

Preparation

1. Prick potatoes with a fork in several places. Place in a baking dish and bake at 425 degrees F until tender all the way to the center, about 1 hour. If you are in a hurry you can use a pressure cooker for 10 minutes, like I did.

2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine beans, tomatoes, oil, cumin, coriander and salt. until hot.

3. When just cool enough to handle, slash each sweet potato lengthwise, press open to make a well in the center and spoon the bean mixture into the well. Top each with a dollop of sour cream (or plain yogurt), a sprinkle of cilantro and top with diced avocados.