Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Apples and Cranberries

I usually make mashed sweet potatoes of some sort for Thanksgiving. It’s easy (one of my recipes has 3 ingredients), I can make it ahead and I can vary the seasonings from year to year. I can serve them plain or with marshmallows on top.

But, as anyone who knows me knows — I don’t like to cook and/or eat the same food over and over again, so I always tinker a bit and add a new dish or two to a holiday menu.

This year, instead of mashed sweet potatoes I am making this sweet potato/apple combo. I’ve cooked it several times in the last few weeks, to get it right. The flavor combo is perfect: sweet vegetable, tangy fruit; and the texture is nice too: tender sweet potatoes and softened but still firm apple.

Best of all — I can still prep all of it beforehand. It’s also an easy side dish and a nice change from the usual.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Apples and Cranberries

• 3 medium sweet potatoes

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey

• cinnamon, salt

• Aleppo (or cayenne) pepper, optional

• 2 apples, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces

• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel the sweet potatoes, cut them into bite size pieces and place on the baking sheet. Pour the vegetable oil and maple syrup or honey over the pieces and toss to coat them. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon, salt and Aleppo pepper if desired. Roast for 12-15 minutes, turning the potatoes once or twice, or until softened. Add the apples and dried cranberries, toss and continue to roast for another 12-15 minutes or until the potatoes and apples are crispy and tender.

Makes 6 servings

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Blueberries

I’ve been buying lots of blueberries lately — for muffins, cake, pie, soup —- and also this roasted sweet potato-baby arugula salad, among others. My family loved the combo of sweet and earthy. I added some red onion for crunch but you can also throw in some pepitas if you want more.

Sweet Potato Salad with Baby Arugula and Blueberries

• 3 medium-large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size chunks

• 5 tablespoons avocado or olive oil

• salt to taste

• 2 cups packed baby arugula

• 1 cup blueberries

• 1 avocado, chopped in chunks

• 1/2 cup red onion, chopped

• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

• 1/2 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese, optional

• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• pepitas if desired

Preheat oven to 450° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the potato chunks on the parchment and pour 2 tablespoons of the avocado or olive oil over them. Toss to coat all the chunks. Sprinkle with salt. Roast for 22-25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and crispy, turning them once or twice during cooking time. Remove the potatoes from the oven and let them cool, then place them in a bowl. Add the baby arugula, blueberries, avocado and red onion. Pour in the remaining avocado oil and toss the ingredients. Pour in the white wine vinegar and toss again. Add the cheese, if desired. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. scatter pepitas on top if desired.

Makes 6 servings

Honey-Spice Sweet Potatoes

It will be a tiny Thanksgiving dinner for us this year. It’s sad. And yet, I am still thankful that my kids and grandkids will celebrate separately and we will FaceTime during the day to send virtual hugs. And we will hope that next year we can go back to the large, crowded, noisy celebrations of days gone by.

Also, I am thankful that my brother and sister-in-law, who live nearby, will have dinner with us, seated far apart.

So, a scaled-down dinner. I know everyone will want sweet potatoes, so here is the scaled-down version of a dish I sometimes serve. It’s enough for 4 or 6 so maybe there will be some leftovers.

Btw, you can set this up ahead and pop it into the oven at the last minute.

Honey-Spice Sweet Potatoes

• 3 medium sweet potatoes

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

• 1 teaspoon freshly grated orange peel

• 3 tablespoons orange juice

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• 1-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

• 1 tablespoon water

• 1-1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, butter, margarine or coconut oil

Peel the sweet potatoes, cut them into chunks and place in a saucepan. Cover with lightly salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and cook for 15-18 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain under cold water and place in a lightly oiled casserole dish. In another saucepan, combine the honey, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, orange peel, orange juice and lemon juice. Bring the ingredients to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Mix the cornstarch and water together to form a paste. Spoon the paste into the boiling honey mixture and stir briefly until the sauce thickens. Stir in the vegetable oil. Pour the sauce over the potatoes. Set aside. About a half hour before you are ready to serve the dish, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and bake the casserole for about 20 minutes.

Makes 4-6 servings

Sweet Potatoes with Raisins and Ginger

Is it just me or does everyone else think that life goes from holiday to holiday?

Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur — Sukkot — weren’t they just a few days ago?

And now, Thanksgiving is coming. I already ordered a turkey. Already have my menu planned.

It includes this sweet potato dish which I served recently to much acclaim.

Bonus to this dish? You can prepare this ahead up to adding the raisins and ginger. How easy is that?

Sweet Potatoes with Raisins and Ginger

• 3 medium sweet potatoes

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup

• cinnamon, salt

• Cayenne pepper (or use Aleppo pepper), optional

• 1/4 cup raisins

• 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel the sweet potatoes, cut them into bite size pieces and place on the baking sheet. Heat the vegetable oil and honey together until warm and easy to combine; pour over the pieces and toss to coat them. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon, salt and pepper if used. Roast for 14-15 minutes, turning the potatoes 2-3 times, or until softened. Add the raisins and crystallized ginger, toss and continue to bake for another 5-6 minutes or until the potatoes are crispy and tender..

Makes 4 servings

Sweet Potato "fries"

I know that for many people, including my family, Hanukkah is a fried-food-fest. That once-a-year indulgence we look forward to with glee. Whether it's the fried latkes, the doughnuts, the chicken -- whatever -- it's the fried part that counts for us. That crunch! That crust! That crisp!

Oy.

So, sure, let's enjoy that first round of classic holiday favorites.

But Hanukkah is an 8-day holiday! So -- how about what I like to call "sort-of-fried" for the remaining days (and anytime after).

Mock fried.

That is, food cooked at high heat that gets crispy, liked fried food, but without the calories, the mess, the fuss and the smell. 

I realize it is NOT THE SAME AS FRIED FOOD.

I get it.

But it is still really tasty, and with the proper crispiness.

Like these sweet potato "fries."

Try these the next time you want something resembles fried without the frying.

Sweet Potato Fries

• 3 pounds sweet potatoes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon Aleppo pepper or to taste (or use cayenne pepper)

Preheat the oven to 425F degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into julienne strips about 1/4-inch wide. Place the strips in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Pour the olive oil over the strips and toss to coat them all. Sprinkle the sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper on top. Bake, tossing once or twice, for about 15 minutes, or until the strips are browned and crispy.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Pineapple

It seems to me that vegetables are more well-loved these days. Or at least less hated.

I'm not sure why that is, but I haven't seen many food articles lately about trying to get your family to "eat that broccoli" or "try some of those string beans."

I once posted that giving a vegetable dish a cute name such as X-Ray Vision Carrots may inspire kids and other nay-sayers to try vegetables. But I also think that, as a whole, we are making vegetable dishes more interesting nowadays and that's why people are more likely to eat them.

I mean -- Roasted Green Beans with Aleppo Pepper tastes better than plain old steamed string beans. Broccoli with Lemony Bread Crumbs is much more delicious than boiled broccoli. 

And so, those vegetable side dishes become big winners. It just takes a bit more effort.

Like this sweet potato dish (which you can also make with winter squash). The pineapple chunks are a nice, tangy balance for the sweet potato. Orange peel and fresh ginger give the dish a refreshing zip. I sometimes sprinkle in a pinch or two of cayenne pepper, but it isn't essential.

This dish is perfect with roasted chicken or turkey.

 

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Pineapple

• 2 medium-large sweet potatoes
• 1/4 fresh pineapple
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh orange peel
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel the potatoes and cut the flesh into bite sized chunks. Place the chunks on the parchment. Cut the soft flesh of the pineapple quarter into bite size chunks. Place on the baking sheet. In a small saucepan, combine the coconut oil, maple syrup, orange peel, ginger and nutmeg, stir and cook over medium heat just briefly enough to melt the coconut oil. Pour the mixture over the potatoes and pineapple and toss to coat all the pieces. Salt to taste. Roast for about 30 minutes, or until tender, tossing the pieces once or twice.

Makes 4-6 servings

Roasted Sweet Potato Hanukkah Coins

When Hanukkah comes most of us are cooking latkes or doughnuts, the holiday’s most typical goodies.

When we were kids, we also ate chocolate Hanukkah gelt, those awful tasting coin candies that are so cheap it makes you wonder whether there is actually any chocolate in them. NOTE  TO ALL: the kids still love those coins but for more discriminating palates, several companies are selling “gourmet gelt" — the real deal, premium chocolate coins.

I decided to take the coin idea in a different culinary direction this year.

On Hanukkah I will also serve sweet potato coins. Roasted, crispy, seasoned sweet potato circles.

Hanukkah gelt of a different sort.

This is one of the easiest recipes you will ever find. For Hanukkah for sure, but any time you need an easy side dish.
 

Roasted Sweet Potato Hanukkah Coins

• 2 long, narrow sweet potatoes
• olive oil
• sea salt
• ground cinnamon
• Aleppo pepper or cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into thin slices. Place the slices (not overlapping) of a parchment lined cookie sheet. Brush them on both sides with a thin film of olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, cinnamon and Aleppo pepper. Roast for 10 minutes. Turn the coins over. Roast for another 6-10 minutes or until crispy. 

Makes 4 servings

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Sweet Potatoes with Orange and Allspice

Last week I posted a recipe for sweet potatoes with date honey. But I realize that date honey is not one of those stock items most people have in their pantry. I have a couple of jars of it because I use it for all sorts of recipes, but for those who don’t, and don’t want to buy any, here’s an alternative sweet potato dish that’s easy and make-ahead, also not overly sweet. Nice side dish for Thanksgiving or as part of a vegetarian meal.

Sweet Potatoes with Orange and Allspice

• 4 large sweet potatoes
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil, Earth Balance Buttery Spread or butter
• 1-1/2 teaspoons grated fresh orange peel
• 3-4 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice (or substitute cinnamon or ground cloves)
• 1/2 cup orange juice (approximately)
• Salt, to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the potatoes, prick the skin with the tines of a fork and roast them for 50-60 minutes or until tender. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh into a bowl. Add the Earth Balance (or other), orange peel, sugar and allspice. Mix thoroughly to blend ingredients. Add some of the orange juice, using as much of it as necessary to mix the ingredients to the desired consistency. Season to taste with salt. Place in a casserole dish to reheat. Can be made completely ahead.

For marshmallow topping: reheat the casserole until completely heated through, cover with marshmallows and reheat for a few minutes to brown the top.

Makes 8 servings

Three Ingredient Sweet Potato Casserole

Need a last minute Thanksgiving or Thanksgivvukah dish? Try this sweet potato recipe. It has three ingredients (plus salt if you wish). Its other virtue is that it is barely sweetened, because I think sweet potatoes are so naturally sugary they don’t need much more.

You can make this ahead and reheat it. Even put marshmallows on top (a few minutes before serving, and after the casserole is already hot).

I use Sarabeth’s Orange-Apricot Marmalade. But you can use either plain orange marmalade or apricot jam (or mix the two).

Three Ingredient Sweet Potato Casserole

• 4 medium sweet potatoes

• 3 tablespoons orange-apricot marmalade

• 2 tablespoons Earth Balance Buttery Spread, margarine or butter

• salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the sweet potatoes, prick them with the tip of a sharp knife and roast them for about one hour or until tender. When cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh into a bowl (discard the skin or eat separately). Add the marmalade and Earth Balance and mash until smooth. Season to taste with salt.

Makes 4-6 servings 

Sweet Potatoes with Roasted Apples and Honey

Admit it. You love this right? Sweet potato casserole topped with marshmallows.

Say it. Confess. 

Even if the so-called sophisticates say it’s declasse to love this. (The same people who say they don’t eat franks-in-blankets either.)

It’s okay to like this. The marshmallow part I mean. And the franks-in-blankets too (is there really anyone who doesn’t love those?)

It’s the underneath stuff that should be the tasty part anyway. 

Here’s my newest version of sweet potato casserole: Because the potatoes are sweet enough in my opinion, I don’t add gobs of brown sugar. I use just a little honey. I also shake in some cinnamon (you could use allspice, nutmeg, ground ginger, vanilla) because it warms the flavor and gives it a hint of sweetness too.

This year I mixed in mashed, roasted apples and apple cider instead of the usual orange juice. This casserole seems more autumn-like, softer-tasting with the roasted apples and cider.

It’s easy to make too. Mine’s already done for tomorrow. Bake the casserole to reheat. Put the marshmallows on about 5-6 minutes before you serve, to brown and melt them.

And btw, you don’t have to use the marshmallows. For a plain dish, just reheat the mashed sweet potatoes as is.

I’m just sayin’

Happy Thanksgiving.

ROASTED SWEET POTATOES WITH APPLES AND HONEY

• 4 large sweet potatoes

• 2  apples, peeled, cored and quartered

• 2 tablespoons butter, coconut oil or margarine

• 2 tablespoons honey

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4-1/3 cup apple cider 

• salt to taste

• marshmallows, optional

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roast the sweet potatoes for 25 minutes. Place the apple pieces in a baking pan, place in the oven and roast for another 25-30 minutes or until the sweet potatoes and apples are tender. When cool enough to handle, scoop the sweet potato flesh into a bowl. Mash the apple and add to the sweet potatoes. Add the butter, honey and cinnamon. Mash and mix thoroughly to blend ingredients. Add some of the apple cider, using enough to mix the ingredients to the desired consistency. Season to taste with salt. Place in a casserole dish to reheat. Can be made completely ahead. For marshmallow topping: reheat the casserole until completely heated through, cover with marshmallows and reheat for a few minutes to brown the top.

Makes 8 servings