Soyrizo Mac n' Sweet Potato

I made this dish with my sister last week when we got Soyrizo (soy Chorizo) and wanted to experiment with it, and have been craving to make it again ever since.  It's a bit complicated- there will definitely be dishes to do after this one- since there's a few different components to it, but I promise it's really delicious.  Make this on one of those days when you're really motivated to cook and in the mood for something awesome.  Oh, and did I mention that it's pretty good for you?

What makes this dish so magical is the combination of ingredients- A sweet potato mac n' cheese topped with caramelized onion soyrizo, roasted red pepper, and coarsely mashed avocado (sounds fancy, huh?).  With that said, however, the sweet potato mac n' cheese was really good on it's own, and could definitely be paired with other things as well.  Get those creative juices flowing!  (Ew. Creative juices sounds gross.  But you know what I mean.)

By the way, the sauce is based off of this recipe but we doubled everything and omitted some stuff.  But just in case you don't trust me and want a different source.  Go there.

Who knew sweet potatoes could be so saucy?

Mac n' Sweet Potato Ingredients:

1 lb small shell pasta, or other adorably small pasta shape of your choice
2 Tbs Smart Balance
2 Tbs Flour
1/2 cup plain soymilk or soy creamer
1 cup cooked, pureed sweet potato
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, or other sharp cheese
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper
reserved pasta cooking water

Mac n' Sweet Potato Directions:

1. Boil some water and cook the pasta.  If you can't figure out how to do this on your own, then you probably won't make it through the rest of the recipe.  So I won't elaborate on the pasta cooking.
2. Melt the Smart Balance in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add in the flour and whisk, whisk, whisk for about 2 minutes until the flour is cooked.  
3. Add the soymilk and pureed sweet potato.  Keep whisking! We want this to be a smooth sauce, no chunkiness allowed.
4. Add about 5 Tbsp of pasta water, and then whisk in the grated cheese.
5. Add the nutmeg, then salt and pepper to taste.
6. The sauce will still be pretty thick.  If you want it thinner, add in more soymilk or pasta water until it reaches the desired consistency.
7. Combine sauce and pasta (which I'm sure you cooked perfectly).

Thick, creamy sauces are the best.  Especially when covering mini pasta.
Mini things are just better.

Meanwhile.....

I don't want to hear anyone badmouthing my Soyrizo.
Because if you tasted this you would change your mind.

Everything Else Ingredients:

1 Red Pepper

1 Avocado

2 Onions (I used 1 Vidalia onion and 1 normal onion, but whatever you have is fine)

6 oz Soyrizo (or half of the 12 oz package. Since half of 12 is 6.  College win.)

1 Tbs Smart Balance

1 Tbs Olive Oil

Salt and Peper

Everything Else Directions:

1. Roast the pepper- rub some olive oil on it and pop it into an oven at 350 degrees.  Let it roast until it's blackened.  
2. Slice the onion.  
3. Melt 1 Tbs Smart Balance with 1 Tbs Olive Oil in a medium pan over medium heat.
4. Add the onion to the pan, sprinkle on some salt, and stir for about 2 minutes.  Cover and cook for another 5 or so minutes, stirring every once in a while.
5. Turn down the heat to low and let the onions continue to cook for the next 10sih minutes, still stirring and keeping the pan covered.
6. Check your pepper! Turn it over, poke it a bit, maybe sing it a song.  If it's done, take it out and let it cool before peeling off the skin and slicing it into little pieces.  If it's not done, then let it keep roasting.  Duh.
7. Crumble the Soyrizo into the pan with the onions.  Turn the heat up to medium/high and cook until the Soyrizo is browned.  Make sure to stir frequently!  The Soyrizo had a tendency to want to stick to the pan, so just keep it moving and keep scraping the bottom of the pan so nothing gets stuck.  You can add in a little extra olive oil if you need it.
8. Slice and gently mash the avocado- you still want some chunks for a bit of texture.  If it's a really good avocado then just let that flavor shine through, otherwise you can add in some salt/pepper/garlic powder/ whatever to liven it up a bit.  I understand, flavor-lacking avocados do happen sometimes.  
9. Hopefully everything is done at this point.  Put some mac n' sweet potato in a bowl, top with the caramelized onion/ soyrizo mixture, and the top that with some roasted red pepper and the avocado.  Try not to gobble it down too fast and fall into a food coma like I did.

Try it.  You won't be disappointed.