This comforting take on a loaded baked potato delivers both a punch of flavour and immune-supportive nutrition to your table this fall and winter. Sweet potatoes are roasted until tender and candy-sweet, topped with spiced orange yogurt, warming pumpkin seed dressing, beans, and chicken. Vitamins A in the sweet potato, vitamin C in the orange, and zinc in the pumpkin seeds are all key nutrients to help you support healthy immune function.
Immune-Supporting Ingredients:
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Sweet Potatoes: Sweet potatoes are a good source of vitamin C, and also have great amounts of beta carotene, which your body can transform into vitamin A. Both vitamins A and C are important for healthy immune function.
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Oranges: Contains high levels of Vitamin C, a potent antioxidant that helps to maintain a healthy immune system.
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Yogurt: Contains high levels of protein, required to help make antibodies, an important aspect of our immune system
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Pumpkin Seeds: contain zinc, an essential mineral that helps to support the immune system.
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Garlic: Although most well known for helping with nausea, it is also traditionally used in Herbal Medicine as an expectorant and cough suppressant to help relieve bronchitis as well as coughs
- Chicken: Protein is not only for building muscles, it is also required to help make antibodies, an important aspect of our immune system.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed
Spiced Orange Yogurt
1 cup full-fat (5% to 11%) plain Greek yogurt
¼ tsp orange zest
½ tsp ground cumin
pinch, ground cinnamon
¼ tsp kosher salt
Warm Pumpkin Seed Dressing
¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp orange juice (from zested orange above)
1 Tbsp honey
½ tsp grated fresh garlic
¼ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
For Serving
Flaky sea salt
1 to 1½ cups cooked beans (black, white, chickpeas, etc.)
2 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, shredded
Roughly chopped fresh tender herbs (parsley, cilantro, etc.), to taste
Finely chopped fresh red chili or dried ground chili, to taste
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Pierce the skins of the sweet potatoes a few times over with a knife and spread out evenly on the prepared baking sheet. Bake sweet potatoes until tender throughout with no toughness remaining when tested with a knife, 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes, depending on their size. While the sweet potatoes are baking, make the yogurt and dressing.
For the Spice Orange Yogurt, stir to combine all yogurt ingredients in a small bowl. Keep at room temperature for up to an hour or store airtight in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
For the Warm Pumpkin Seed Dressing, toast pumpkin seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until popped and becoming fragrant, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in remaining dressing ingredients. Set aside and rewarm gently over low heat before serving.
To serve, split the sweet potatoes and season with flaky sea salt. Top sweet potatoes evenly with beans, chicken, a dollop of yogurt, generous spoonfuls of well-stirred dressing, herbs, and chili. Season with additional flaky sea salt and serve.
Instagram Handle: @allisondaycooks
