Apples weren’t the only produce we took home when we hit up the orchard/farm a few days ago. We also bought a couple pounds of sweet potatoes, and I’ve been itching to use them since then. To be honest, I used to dislike (read: hate) sweet taters. I know, I know. But I have issues when foods that I expect to be savory are actually sweet, and the idea of a sweet potato never really did it for me. Add in my aversion to oddly textured foods (I’m a freak, I know) and sweet potatoes were low on my list of likes.

However, in the interest of fairness, last spring I decided to give sweet potatoes another chance. I started with oven-baked sweet potato “fries” and discovered that they were actually pretty darn tasty. I cautiously raised my acceptance level from “get that crap away from me” to “I suppose I could try some.” After oh-so-bravely trying plain ol’ baked sweet potatoes (loaded with cinnamon, of course), I realized that my childhood aversion to the pretty orange tubers was just silly.

Still, though, I can’t help but harbor a secret well of distrust for using sweet potatoes in certain situations, and sweet potato burritos were definitely high on that list of dubious delicacies. But since I knew I couldn’t use those beautiful local sweet taters for anything less than an exciting, explorative dish, I knew I had to face my fears one last time. So last night I came up with a sweet potato burrito recipe that surprised and delighted me. Now my sweet potato rating has rocketed from “yeah, these are good” to “GIMME MOAR PLZ!” Take a look at these little lovelies, pre-oven.

Okay, I realize that they look like plain Jane burritos right there, but trust me – these were bursting with a delightful blend of flavors. I absolutely loved the textural contrast, too; I saw one recipe online that recommended mashing the potatoes and the beans, but that just seems silly to me. The whole beans and corn kernels work to give your mouth a little textural surprise in each bite. Not to toot my own horn, but this super-easy recipe is definitely a winner!

(Mom’s photo, again!)

Sweet Potato, Corn, & Black Bean Burritos
Ingredients
2-3 sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
1 ear corn, de-kerneled (you know what I mean!)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 yellow onion, roughly chopped
1/2 T minced garlic
Cumin
Chili powder
Cayenne pepper powder
Salsa (I used some of my dad’s homemade salsa)
4 whole wheat tortillas

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Cook and mash your sweet potatoes using method of your choice. I nuked mine (for convenience reasons) and that worked just fine. While your potatoes are cooking, heat a bit of olive oil in a pan and add onion and garlic. When they’ve begun to brown, throw in your corn kernels and black beans. Reduce heat, add spices to taste, and let the mixture sit for a bit while you mash your potatoes.

Once your beans and corn are nice and warm, lightly heat your tortillas. Spread a couple of spoonfuls of the mashed sweet potatoes on a tortilla and cover with the bean and corn mixture. Top with salsa if desired and fold burrito-style. Be careful not to overfill! If necessary, use toothpicks to secure the burritos. Arrange them in a lightly sprayed pan – I used an 8 x 8″ pan and packed them fairly close together – and place in oven. Cook for about 12 minutes, remove from oven, and let cool for a minute or two. At this point, you can slice them diagonally down the middle and garnish as desired.