Sometimes the simplest things are the best of things. And sometimes simple can be so much more than just simple.
These are not the sweet potatoes you had yesterday. Nope. These are Roasted Sweet Potatoes and they are sweet and salty and peppery and smoky. These are amazing.
These are also lazy-Sunday-afternoon-family-dinner sweet potatoes. Because all you have to do is scrub them and then throw them in the oven for a real long time. Get single serve sized sweet potatoes. Not the ginormous ones that will feed the entire family. You want potatoes that will bake in their skin. Because here -- the skin gets a little caramelly and crisple-y and is salty and there is a bit of cheese... so you want to be able to eat everything.
Throw the potatoes in the oven and just walk away for a while. Do something else. Set a timer for 60 minutes so you don't forget about them.
After 60 minutes, turn up the oven and tear the potatoes into big chunks. I don't usually even separate them, but just tear big slits into the potatoes with a fork. I want a place for all the good stuff to collect. Drizzle a little olive oil over the potatoes and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and then throw them back in the oven. This is where the magic will happen.
Use good salt and fresh ground black pepper. I like the way coarse salt doesn't melt away and blend into this dish but creates a sharp hit of saltiness in each bite. Exactly the effect I want. This chili salt is amazing here.
Place the potatoes back into the oven and let them caramelize and get a bit crispy, 15 or 20 minutes.
And when they get out, dust them with the very best cheddar cheese you can get your hands on. I used a good qualify Applewood Smoked Cheddar. A very hard, very rich and smoky cheese. Totally worth the trip to the speciality cheese counter or shop to find it. It has such an intense, deep flavour that you can get away with just a little bit. If you can't find something similar. Use the oldest cheddar you can find. You might even want to go with a good parm. Please don't use orange cheddar. It just might break my heart.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Smoked Cheddar
Ingredients
- 4 small sweet potatoes
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- ½ to 1 teaspoon salt use more if using coarse salt
- fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ cup Smoked Applewood Smoked Cheddar shredded
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350.
- Scrub and dry sweet potatoes. Prick each potato all over with a fork or tip of a sharp knife (be careful!) and place potatoes on a dry cookie sheet and place in the oven. Bake at 350 for about 60 minutes or until the potatoes are soft and yield when gently squeezed.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven and turn the heat up in the oven to 400.
- Using a fork, break the potatoes into three or four pieces each. Drizzle with olive oil, about a teaspoon on each potato. Sprinkle generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper and return potatoes to the oven for 15-20 minutes. They will crisp very slightly around the edges, their juices will begin to caramelize. Remove from oven and sprinkle hot potatoes with the shredded smoked cheddar. Serve.
More sweet potato recipes:
Sweet Potato and Kale Tortilla Soup (v)
Sweet Potato and Portobello Lasagna
Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos (Slow-cooker) (v)
Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup (Slow-Cooker) (v)
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