POTATOES. That’s it, that’s my intro for this recipe. Are you hooked?

Hi friends! I’m back with another recipe, and this time it’s in collaboration with some blogger friends, in honor of #NationalPotatoDay! What an awesome concept–a day to celebrate one of my favorite ingredients. Most, if not all, of the following recipes can be veganized–let me know if you guys need advice or have questions about going about that! For the event, I decided to feature the beautiful purple Japanese sweet potato!

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Happy National Potato Day!

Thank you to Valentina from The Baking Fairy for organizing this event!
Check out all of the delicious potato recipes we made for the occasion:

Air Fryer Garlic Herb French Fries by Daily Dish Recipes
Banh Mi Potato Skins by The Spiffy Cookie
Baked Tornado Potatoes by For The Love of Food
Brunede Kartofler (Danish Caramel Potatoes) by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Campfire Potatoes by Our Good Life
Cheesy Smashed Potatoes by One Sweet Appetite
Chutneywale Aloo by Food Trails
Gnocchi with Sage and Pancetta by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
Hearty Beef and Potato Soup by Tip Garden
Individual Pommes Anna by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Loaded Cincinnati Potato by Palatable Pastime
Loaded Mac and Cheese Stuffed Baked Potatoes by Big Bear’s Wife
Paleo Zuppa Toscana by Frugal & Fit
Potato and Spinach Curry by Savory Moments
Potato Dinner Rolls by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Sour Cream and Chive Mashed Potatoes by Cheese Curd in Paradise
Spinach Gnocchi with Roasted Tomato Sauce by The Baking Fairy
Rainbow Smashed Purple Potatoes + 5 Spice Peanut Sauce by PlantCrush
Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Herbs by Lemon Blossoms

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As you may know, my mom raised me on a lacto-vegetarian diet, and she has always emphasized the importance of intuitively eating lots of colors for optimal health. Thus, from a young age, I developed a habit of eating colorfully at every meal. Research indicates that my mom was right (aren’t mom’s always right)! Colorful, plant-based foods are loaded with antioxidants and nutrients that help us thrive.

Here are just a few general benefits of eating the rainbow (not Skittles):

Red foods are good for the brain and circulatory system
Orange foods are best known as immunity boosters
Yellow foods promote good digestion among other benefits
Green foods strengthen muscles, bones, and teeth
Purple foods have been shown to lower the risk of some cancers
White foods helps boost the lymphatic system

These smashed purple potatoes are one of my favorite meals because they are absolutely gorgeous, filling, and wholesome, but they don’t take that much work to put together. You can prep the components at the beginning of the week and just assemble throughout the week. Measuring isn’t even necessary for this recipe–it’s all to your taste and needs. The ingredients below are for about 4 servings, but you can multiply according to your needs.

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Rainbow Smashed Purple Potatoes
makes 4 servings

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Active prep time: 10 minutes
Wait time: 1 hour
Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Ingredients:

• 4 Japanese purple sweet potatoes (I got mine at the Asian market!)
• 2 cups steamed edamame (1/2 cup per potato, or more–for example, if I’m eating this after a workout, I would make it 1 cup of edamame per serving)
• 5 Spice Peanut Sauce, for serving (recipe here, 1 batch should cover 4 potatoes!)
• mango salsa (see below)

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Tropical Mango Salsa
makes 2 cups

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Toss together the following in a medium bowl:

• 2 cups diced mango (1 large mango)
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 10 Thai basil leaves (about 1 handful), roughly chopped
• 1 small carrot, shredded (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 pinch Himalayan pink salt (to taste)
• 2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce (to taste)

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Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Rinse and clean the potatoes. Using a fork, prick the potatoes all over.
3. Place the potatoes on a non-stick or parchment lined baking sheet.
4. Roast until the potatoes are fork tender (about one hour).
5. Using a knife, split each potato in half and smash with a fork to open them up more, to hold the toppings.
6. Load up the toppings on each potato: edamame (about 1/2 cup per potato), and spoon on mango salsa to taste, adding additional herbs (cilantro, scallions, etc.) to your taste. Drizzle with 5 Spice Peanut Sauce and serve immediately.
7. These make great leftovers and should be good up to a week! I also like to enjoy the leftovers on top of a huge bed of greens (air-frying the leftover sweet potatoes is a game-changer). Complex carbs + colorful veggies + lots of greens…a recipe for HAPPINESS. Enjoy!