Sweet Potato and Bean Stew

1 Peel the sweet potatoes and discard the skins. Cut into bite-sized chunks, and set aside.

2 Combine the onion, garlic and celery with the 2/3 cup of water in a large pot. Saute over a high heat for 5-6 minutes until the onion and celery are soft.

3 Add the sweet potato, ground cumin, sweet paprika, liquid smoke (or smoked paprika) and cinnamon. Stir to combine. Cook, while stirring, for 1-2 minutes until the spices become fragrant. Add a little more water if necessary to prevent sticking.

4 Add the 1 1/2 cups of water and the diced tomatoes. Reduce heat to a medium simmer, cover the pot, and allow to cook for 20 minutes.

5 Remove the lid. Add the beans, corn and leafy greens. Stir to combine. Cover once again and cook for 5 minutes until all ingredients are warmed through. Serve immediately, with brown rice to accompany if desired.

Notes:

6 You will need an extra large pot to make this recipe, ideally 5 or 6 quarts to fit everything comfortably.

7 You can use just about any variety of leafy greens for this recipe, but you will need to vary the cooking method slightly depending on what you buy.

8 If you’re using a tough variety of fresh leafy greens, such as kale, collards, mustard or turnip greens, you will need to cook them before adding them to the recipe in step 5. Slice the leaves thinly, boil or steam until just cooked, then drain and set aside until needed.

9 If you’re using fresh baby spinach or Swiss chard, slice the greens and add them to the recipe fresh. They’ll be able to cook in allocated time.

10 If you are using frozen greens for this recipe (frozen spinach, frozen kale, etc.) you will need to thaw the greens completely first. Once thawed, place the greens in a colander or mesh sieve, and squeeze out the excess liquid before adding to the recipe in step 5.