Roasted sweet potato & red onion

Ever heard of the blood group "diet"? I am not a diet girl, really, I have never been engaged to Atkins and the grapefruit and South Beach diets don't feature in my repertoire, despite the fact that I gained 25 kilos while living in Mexico, 9, 15 and 23 kg respectively in my pregnancies. The infamous cabbage soup once made an appearance on my stove only to be chucked out as soon as we finished our first bowl... inedible. Really. Fact is, I am way too undisciplined to follow any regime that doesn't advocate comfort food. (Whether I am naturally drawn to foods that are good for me or just have an above-average metabolism, I don't know. But I am far from being fat and any doctor's model student when it comes to measuring body fat, cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Do I think I am "practically perfect in every way?" - no way! There's always room for improvement, don't you think?)

The curriculum for the studies (a BSc in Complementary Medicine) that I embarked on last year also has a module on nutrition and the blood group "diet" was highly spoken of. I have the misfortune of having grown up in Austria and being a blood type O. What that means in a nutshell is that I am not supposed to have any potatoes or pasta, both of which are a staple in my diet. Sweet potato, on the other and, is beneficial for my metabolism and that's a vegetable that is all but  unknown where I grew up and therefore only a recent discovery. Paired with red onions and coriander or parsley, roasted in the oven for just over half an hour, those sweet potatos are a real treat, recently enjoyed with a steak straight from the BBQ, a chimichurri sauce (recipe to follow) and a new addiction: cavolo nero. Also extremely beneficial for me supposedly. Who said diets have to be painful???

And if you're in the mood for roasting now, why not participate in our much-revered foodblogging event "Waiter, there's something in my..." where the theme this month is roasts. You've got until Sunday, so that's your dinner for the weekend sorted! ;-)

Roasted sweet potato & red onion*
(serves 2 as a generous side dish)

500 g sweet potatoes (peeled)
2 medium red onions (peeled)
40 ml olive oil
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp hot Hungarian (=unsmoked) paprika
25 ml fresh orange juice
1 tsp runny honey
1 tbsp tamari sauce
1 handful coriander or parsley leaves (roughly chopped)

Pre-heat oven to 200C.
Cut the sweet potatoes into just over bite-sized chunks, the onions into wedges (keeping some of the stem intact will help). Combine the remaining ingredients (except coriander/parsley) in a bolw and mix thoroughly.

Place the vegetables in an oven-proof dish, pour over the marinade and coat evenly. Cook for about 40 minutes or until cooked through and slightly browned.

Sprinkle with the chopped herbs and serve immediately.

* Based on a recipe that appeared in Olive magazine in 2006, I believe. Yes, I keep clippings for that long, although I never find time to file them properly!

Comments

[Kit]

I'm never one for diets either. We did try the blood group diet briefly for the kids when they were on homeopathy constitutional treatment, but it never lasts for long - too complicated, when they are different blood groups too. Your course sounds very interesting - a subject I'd like to know more about too.

[nina]

Wow, look at the color of this dish! It is so inviting that I just want to tuck in....guess I'll have to make it myself!!! Lovely!

[jennywenny]

With all due respect that sounds like a load of cobblers! I cant see how different blood groups would change the way your body metabolises food. I think its more important to reduce your calories and increase your activity!

Mind you, its an absolutely delicious looking dish! Thanks for sharing

[Johanna]

never heard of the blood group diet before - am always struggling to remember my blood group anyway! The sort of diets I respond to are ones that say eat lots of veg (sure!) but not ones that say measure exactly how much pasta you eat with dinner (can't be bothered)

[John]

Oh, but this is just a lovely site! Just came across it! And the "Waiter theres something in my..." idea is great! I´ll join ya in a moment when I have more spare time!

/john

http://www.caputmundicibus.com

[Claudia]

That's a rather exciting version of roasted sweet potatoes (an oldie but goldie in our kitchen).
Care to share a Cavolo Nero recipe? Since we get it quite often in our vegetable box I had to look around and discovered how many lovely things you can do with it ... curry, risotto, pesto ...

[Katie]

I love roasted sweet potatoes they are so sweet and comforting and go so well with red onions. I sometimes roast a sweet potato and then mash it with some spring onions and use it as a dip - delicious.

[Rachel Ward]

500 sweet potatoes? Oh my!

[Jeanne @ CookSister!]

Mmmm, I adore sweet potatoes - the idea of combining this with red onions and coriander. Definitely a great addition to any Sunday lunch table :)

[icelandicchef]

Love sweet potatoes in every form, gotta try this roasted version.

[Heleni]

Excelent Johanna. I love sweet tastes and I would eat this as main dish along with a salad.

[Claudia PAS Bjørgum]

a friend of mine showed me the book about this blood type diet around 5 years ago and I totally ignored it after a quick check of the list of stuff I shouldn't eat. Basically all the raw fruits and vegetables that I adore were not recommended to A(-) like me. But I was not in need of any diet at all. I was just checking the book my friend had bought.

I have never engaged in a diet in my life but never really needed one. Not even after pregnancy when the extra 15 kgs went away by themselves. I can't imagine what will be made of me if I ever need to go in a diet...

C.

[Gourmet Chick]

This sounds delicious - thanks for another great sweet potato recipe which I will have to bookmark. There was also a delicious looking sweet potato dish on 101 cookbooks recently - mashed with coconut milk.