Sweet Potato Mash with Carrots, Garden Peas & Cod
Mustard in sweet potato mash sounds odd until you taste it. That quiet heat plays against the sweetness in a way plain butter never could. Add a pan-fried cod fillet, boiled carrots, and garden peas on the side, and the whole plate lands at 387 calories with 25 grams of protein in 15 minutes.
The mash wants to be rough, not smooth. Fork-crushed with a splash of milk and that half-teaspoon of mustard. Enough to give it backbone without announcing itself.
Mustard in sweet potato mash sounds odd until you taste it. That quiet heat plays against the sweetness in a way plain butter never could. Add a pan-fried cod fillet, boiled carrots, and garden peas on the side, and the whole plate lands at 387 calories with 25 grams of protein in 15 minutes.
The mash wants to be rough, not smooth. Fork-crushed with a splash of milk and that half-teaspoon of mustard. Enough to give it backbone without announcing itself.
Ingredients
- cod fillet (frozen) 1
- sweet potato 0.25 pound
- carrot 1
- garden peas (frozen) 2 oz
- olive oil 1 tbsp
- milk, 2% reduced fat 1.5 fl oz
- yellow mustard 0.5 tsp
Method
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Allow the cod fillet to defrost.
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Peel the sweet potato and cut it into small cubes. Wash the carrot and slice it into equal-sized pieces.
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Boil the sweet potato in a pot of water for about 12 minutes until cooked through. In a separate pot, bring the carrots to a boil in water and cook for 10 minutes. Add the garden peas during the last 2 minutes to heat them up.
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In the meantime, heat the oil in a pan. Season the fish with some salt and pepper and fry until cooked through, in about 6 minutes.
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Mash the sweet potato with milk and mustard until roughly pureed. Season the mash with pepper and salt.
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Serve the sweet potato mash with the vegetables and fish on a plate.
Boiling sweet potato retains more beta-carotene than roasting, air frying, or microwaving. A 2025 study tested all seven cooking methods and boiling ranked first. The olive oil from pan-frying the cod provides the fat that makes it absorbable. Without fat in the meal, most beta-carotene passes through unused.
Why This Works
Behind this recipe
Why add mustard to the mash?
The half-teaspoon of yellow mustard adds a quiet warmth that balances the natural sweetness of the sweet potato. It rounds out the flavor without overpowering it. Without it, the mash leans toward baby food territory. With it, the mash has backbone.
Does frozen cod affect the texture of this dish?
No. Frozen cod fillets are flash-frozen within hours of catch, which locks in both texture and moisture. Once defrosted and pan-fried in the olive oil, the flake and firmness are the same as fresh. If you happen to have fresh cod on hand, skip Step 1 and season it straight away.
Is 387 calories enough for dinner?
It depends on your daily target. At 387 kcal, this sits in the lower range for dinner, which makes it a good fit if you had a bigger lunch or want a lighter evening meal. The 25g protein and 9g fiber both contribute to fullness, and the mashed format may play a role too. Research found that pureed meals empty from the stomach 19% slower than the same food eaten in chunks, making them more satiating per calorie.
