Halloween Monster Mash Purple Potatoes

There purple potatoes are such a fun way to celebrate Halloween! It also doesn't hurt that it's a healthy recipe, so you can feel totally guilt-free when indulging in candy later in the evening!

The best part is that the stuffing can totally be left up to taste. For example, sometimes I do a pizza-inspired stuffing, with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni. Other times, I'll do a chili mixture. For this recipe, I am using an Indian inspired filling so that vegetarians and omnivores alike can indulge.

• 4 purple sweet potatoes (or regular potatoes or yams, but the purple are the spookiest!)
• 1 onion
• 2 tbsp tomato sauce
• Stuffing of choice

My preferred stuffing of choice:

• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 tbsp vegetable stock or water
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce + 2 tbsp for decoration
• 28 grams paneer cheese. Queso Fresco is nearly identical, so I often use it as a substitute since it is easier to find in supermarkets
• 2 tsp paneer masala seasoning

If you decide to leave the skin on the potatoes, wash them thoroughly with a brush. Though the skin has a lot of health benefits, I tend to peel the purple potatoes so that more of the vibrant color is visible at the end. If cooking in the oven, poke the potatoes with a fork or sharp knife a few times and then place on a lined baking sheet. Cook at 425 degrees F or around 50 minutes.

However, if you are short on time, you can also put them in the microwave. The color isn't as nice as with the oven, but this method wins for practicality. Again poke the potatoes and place them in the microwave one at a time for six minutes total, turning the potato halfway through. If your potato is very large, it may need more time.

Once finished, take the sweet potato out and slice it in half.

*Note: my supermarket was out of purple potatoes (darn you, supply chain!) so I used regular yams for a lot of this Instructable*

The filling can be whatever you want it to be. As mentioned in the introduction, it can be chili-inspired or pizza-based, and recipes for those are easy to find on the internet. The one condition for the filling is that it has to go well with tomato sauce and onion.

One of my favorites is an Indian paneer inspired mixture. I've included the steps below:

1. Place the peas in a saucepan and add the tablespoon of either stock or water. Heat over medium-high heat until the peas are cooked and the water has evaporated. This should take around five minutes. Lower the heat to medium-low. In the meantime, toss the spice mixture in another pan over medium heat for a couple of minutes to deepen the flavors.
2. Add the 1/2 cup tomato sauce to the peas. If you are worried about opening a can and not finishing the whole thing, I have to confess that I have used both Italian tomato pasta sauce and marinara sauce and it is just as delicious. It's definitely a clash of cultures, but in the name of reducing waste.
3. Add the spice mix to the peas. My personal favorite is the Karahi Paneer Masala from MDH -- the zingy coriander seeds is such a treat. Stir well. The two teaspoon serving is around a medium spicy, and can be adjusted to taste.
4. Last but not least, cut the paneer and add to the mixture. Take off heat.

While the filling is on the stove and cooking, take out your onion and slice each layer into diamond shapes. The sharper the point, the easier it is for the onions to fit inside the potato.

In addition, scoop out the center of the potato, making sure that the edges are fairly wide so that the onions can be inserted into them. You can add the scooped out potato to your filling if you'd like, or you can keep it for another time.

Make sure not to overstuff it! The key is to make sure the potato can *almost* completely close again. Close that potato and then add the extra tomato sauce along the seam so that it looks like a bloody mouth. If your tomato sauce is straight from the fridge, it might be a good idea to heat it up for a little bit in the used skillet. However, it is room temperature, the heat from the filling and potato warms it up without any extra labor.

It's already looking creepy, right?

Take a sharp knife and insert small holes into the edge of the potato on both the top and bottom. Insert the onion into each slit. It holds surprisingly firm!

Dig in and enjoy your atmospheric meal!