Tomato-Free Sloppy Joes on Sweet Potato Rounds

Comfort food is allowed to stay comforting. This rebuilds a childhood-familiar sloppy joe with a nomato sauce that brings the same tangy, savory depth a tomato base once did. Spooned over roasted sweet potato rounds instead of a bun, it eats like the real thing, a dinner that tastes like home.

Grass-fed beef brings protein and is a source of zinc, which is involved in immune regulation and the repair of the gut barrier, supporting an immune system working to find its calm. The sweet potato rounds underneath add beta-carotene, a source of vitamin A involved in immune and mucosal health, along with steady, gut-friendly fiber. Real food doing quiet, real work.

An animal was raised for this beef, so source it well and waste little. Before you eat, take a breath and look at what is in front of you: the deep color of the sauce against the bright orange of the sweet potato. A few minutes of care and presence at the table is part of the medicine, not separate from it.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup nomato (no-tomato) sauce
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• (Mustard omitted for Core)
• Roasted sweet potato rounds, for serving

Method

If you are serving on sweet potato rounds, start them first: heat the oven to 400 F, slice a sweet potato into thick rounds, and roast until tender while you make the filling. For the filling, brown the ground beef with the onion in a skillet over medium heat, breaking it up as it cooks. Once the beef is cooked through, drain off the fat. Stir in the garlic, nomato sauce, honey, and salt, then lower the heat and simmer on medium-low for about 30 minutes, until thick and saucy. Taste and adjust the salt. Spoon the filling over the roasted sweet potato rounds and serve open-faced. A lettuce wrap works too.

Instant Pot variation

Use the saute setting to brown the beef and onion right in the pot, then drain the fat. Stir in the garlic, nomato sauce, honey, and salt. You can simmer it down on the saute setting, stirring, until thickened, which keeps it to one pot. If you would rather pressure cook, add a splash of broth so it does not scorch, seal, and cook on high pressure briefly, then quick-release and simmer on saute to reduce to a thick, saucy filling.

*Adapted from acleanplate.com*