Sweet Potato Lamb Bowls

Here’s a recipe I’ve been loving lately. It’s been well received both by clients and friends! Those who care about fitness focused meals approve. Those who just care about delicious meals also approve. This is always the goal as I want to stay focused on my goals inside the gym without scaring my friends away with sad flavorless meals. This recipe is quite simple and can be done on a weeknight. If you aren’t opposed to eating the same thing twice in a row, its great for lunch the next day too! You can also make it more easily for dinner a second time later in the week - just double the yogurt topping and chop extra mint! That way all you have to do that second time around is steam your potato and quickly cook up the ground lamb.

I love a good bowl based dinner. It’s great for a group since everyone can pick and choose what they add. Not into some of the toppings? Go ahead and keep it simple. Need extra extra yogurt like I do in every meal? Go for it. No ones dinner need look exactly the same. Missing some of the suggested toppings? No big deal - they’re just toppings so the whole recipe won’t fall apart. This is a simple recipe that you can really make your own.

When compared to baking in the oven, steaming the sweet potatoes is a surprisingly quick and energy efficient way to cook potatoes. No need to preheat a whole oven, and they’re done in less than 30 min (it tends to take upwards of 50 minutes to bake whole sweet potatoes). While sweet potatoes steam, you’ll have time to prepare the rest of the toppings. I’ve adapted this from a Bon Apetit recipe that you can check out here.

Recipe: Sweet Potato Lamb Bowls

Serves 2

Ingredients

I’ve broken the ingredient down into lists you’ll need for each. If you’re missing something you might just be able to skip that topping and still be set up for a pretty solid meal.

For steamed sweet potatoes

• Salt (to salt water for steaming)

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, sliced in half lengthwise*

For pickled topping

• 1/2-1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced**

• Small red onion, thinly sliced

• 1 /4 cup apple cider vinegar (or similar)

• 1/4 tsp salt

For the lamb

• 2 TB olive oil

• 8 oz ground lamb***

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

• 1 tsp aleppo pepper

• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced somewhat thinly****

For the yogurt topping

• 1/2-1 TB olive oil*****

• 3/4 cup greek yogurt (ideally full fat, at least 2% if you must)

• 3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

• 1/4 tsp salt

Additional toppings

• ~¼ cup mint leaves, chopped

• Additional aleppo pepper to taste

Directions

1. Slice potatoes lengthwise. Using a pot and steamer basket, bring salted water to a boil and steam potatoes until cooked - about 20-25 minutes. Use a fork to test tenderness! It should feel tender and easy to pierce.

2. Meanwhile, pickle the fennel and red onion. Slice fennel and red onion thinly. I like to use a food processor with a slice attachment for this, but you can also use a knife. Next, place fennel and onion in a bowl along with vinegar and 1/4 tsp salt. Combine well so that the vinegar mixture coats the root vegetables completely. Toss occasionally as you cook the rest of your food, but don’t worry about it too much.

3. Mix lamb, cumin, cinnamon, 1 tsp aleppo pepper, and ½ tsp salt using your hands to combine well. Then heat 2 TB olive oil over medium-high. When the pan is hot, press the lamb mixture down into an even layer - about 1/2” thick. Cook without stirring until browned on the bottom - about 4 minutes. Then, break up into bite sized pieces in the pan and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until fully cooked and browned - about 1–2 minutes more.

4. Now we add mushrooms! Push lamb mixture to the side and add mushrooms in an even layer. Season with a bit of salt. Let them cook undisturbed until they begin to soften and brown. This will take anywhere between 90 seconds and 3 minutes, depending on the type of mushroom and how thinly you slice them. Combine mushrooms with lamb mixture, and cook for another minute or so until everything is cooked fully and combined. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

5. Whisk together yogurt, remaining olive oil, lemon juice, and 1/4 tsp salt in a small bowl.

6. Strain pickled vegetables from the vinegar so they don’t become too sharp (they should spend about 30 minutes in the mixture, but not much more ideally).

7. Construct your bowls! Start with a bed of sweet potato (mashing it down slightly with a fork may help your bowl feel more well constructed). Add 1/2 the lamb and mushroom mixture to each bowl. Each person can add their own toppings! Enjoy.

Notes:

*Doesn’t have to be exact, this depends on how much you like a sweet potato!

** if you don’t have fennel, don’t stress - just the onion will do and a red onion is much easier to find or have on hand. That said, I highly suggest trying some recipes with fennel if you haven’t. It’s tasty and really plentiful here in the Bay.

*** For lamb, I have purchased 12oz packages a few times which I find super convenient if you need a heartier meal. It’s actually pretty common for lamb to be sold in a package this size. This gives each bowl 6oz ground meat instead if you need more protein in your meal. Just remember to increase the seasonings by 50% if you add another 4oz meat to the equation.

**** I slice the mushrooms using the same food processor attachment. Makes it so easy. If you prefer a chunkier mushroom, just do it by hand.

***** Last note - in the yogurt, add olive oil to taste/preference.