disclosure: Sponsored post, 2015 DOLE ambassadorship.

Bring me sweet potatoes.

Fall Back. The kitchen was dark and dim by 5pm today, the low grey Los Angeles sky slowly fading from silver and milky white into dusty purples and faded blue and eventually rich navy and black. Nothing but the golden twinkling lights of hundreds of cozy homes out in the distance. A few flashes of yellow headlights from swift humming cars slipping along the invisible streets. Early November brings on a sort of quiet. A sort of calm before the storm of the holiday season. I like it. I want rain. And cuddly blankets. And cooking dinner feels extra soothing and satisfying.

Lets sink into these early November days and enjoy the blanket of velvet sky that wraps us tightly and keeps us simmering for a while.

Peanut-Sriracha Sweet Potato Chickpea Brown Rice Bowl. And this meal of sizzling chickpeas, fluffy brown rice and steamy golden DOLE sweet potatoes is one of my favorites. This sauce packs a punch of flavor. Drizzle it on as much as you’d like. Warm, nutty, spicy, sweet, smoky. And peanut sauce with sweet potatoes? Perfection.

I like to serve this bowl with blackened whole wheat or corn tortillas to serve as casual tacos or a big wrap. You could even use collard wraps if you’d like! Get cozy with this steamy supper…

This brown rice bowl includes tender sweet potatoes and skillet chickpeas smothered in a spicy sweet peanut-sriracha sauce.

First we chop..

Steamy sweet potato bliss..

Meets a sizzling skillet..

chickpeas mingling with spicy-sweet peanut sauce..

And fluffy brown rice..

Spicy-sweet peanut sriracha sauce, blended in seconds..

Sweet Potatoes! I adore sweet potatoes, as you may know from many years of reading my blog. They are at the tip top of my “favorite foods.”

One medium sweet potato packs nearly 370% of your daily vitamin A for just 112 calories. – source

Bowl or tacos/wraps..

Dive in..

Spicy-Sweet Peanut Sweet Potatoes, Chickpea, Brown Rice Bowl

By Kathy Patalsky
Published 11/02/2015

This brown rice bowl includes tender sweet potatoes and skillet chickpeas smothered in a spicy sweet peanut-sriracha sauce.

Ingredients

Peanut-Sriracha Sauce:
1/3 cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp sriracha
1/3 cup water
2-3 Tbsp maple syrup (or sweeten to taste)
Chickpea Skillet:
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 medium sweet onion, diced
A few Tbsp of the peanut sauce
Also:
5 cups cooked brown rice, short grain
1 large DOLE sweet potato, diced
Garnish:
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 Tbsp pecans, chopped
Optional: Serve with blackened tortillas

Instructions

Prep: Cook brown rice before starting and set aside in a covered pot. Drain chickpeas, if using canned. If not, cook chickpeas ahead of time as well.
Sauce: To make your sauce, blend all ingredients in a Vitamix until silky smooth. Tip: Start by adding just a few tablespoons of water. Then add more to thin your sauce as desired. You can also customize the sweetness of your sauce by adding more or less maple syrup. Pour sauce into a small bowl and set aside.
Cook Potatoes: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add diced sweet potatoes and a pinch of salt. Boil potatoes for 8-10 minutes or until tender.
While sweet potatoes are boiling, warm a large skillet over high heat. Add 2 Tbsp of water and the onions. Cook until the onions begin to soften. Then add the chickpeas and cook another 2-4 minutes until the sides begin to brown just a bit. Add in 2-4 Tbsp of the peanut sauce and stir for about two minutes. The mixture will really start to brown now. When sauce is absorbed and your chickpeas are nicely smothered and browned, turn off heat and set aside.
Assemble bowls: Add 1 1/4 cups cooked brown rice to each bowl. Top with 1 cup of the chickpeas/onion mixture. Then top with 3/4 cup sweet potato. Drizzle entire bowl with a few teaspoons or more of the peanut-sriracha sauce. Add chopped pecans and chopped cilantro over top. Serve warm!
Optional: Warm tortillas to serve alongside the bowls to make soft tacos out of the mixture. Optional: Add some sauerkraut, shredded carrots or chopped cabbage for raw veggie crunch on top!

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 00 hrs. 20 mins.
Cook time: 00 hrs. 20 mins.
Total time: 40 mins.
Tags: entree,sweet potatoes,brown rice,chickpeas,peanut,tacos,dinner,vegan,meal,bowl