I know that when most of us think of sweet potatoes we think of the fall, but lately I can’t get enough of them. I spent the entire month of March exploring roasted sweet potatoes and toppings. What I do is buy two or three small sweet potatoes, wash them, slice them in half lengthwise and place them cut side down on an oiled (olive oil, or coconut oil), or buttered pan and bake them at 375 for about 20 minutes or until they are tender. For this type of preparation I prefer sweet potatoes to yams, sweet potatoes tend to be a bit dryer and fluffier which I like. Once roasted I keep them in the fridge and heat one up every morning for breakfast. For awhile I was stuck on a warmed sweet potato topped with chevre and smoked salmon. That morphed into roasted sweet potato topped with chevre and roasted vegetables (left over from dinner) and then once the chevre ran out it became ricotta salata shaved over my potato with roasted vegetables.
In addition to the sweet potato craving I’ve been obsessed with apples. Clearly my body is insisting it’s fall when the rest of the world is heading into spring. A bag of organic apples looked like a pot of homemade applesauce to me and I had to buy them. Of course once I got them home the last thing I felt like doing is peeling 10 pounds of apples and chopping them up but eating warm applesauce is truly one of life’s best pleasures and the desire for that experience overcame my lethargy and I peeled away.
Applesauce is one of my signature recipes, I make mine with a touch of sugar, lemon, butter and a cinnamon stick. The hardest part about homemade applesauce is peeling the apples, once you get it cooking it’s done in under 15 minutes.
So, what’s a girl to do when faced with a warm caramelized sweet potato and a pot of hot steaming applesauce? Why put them together of course, with a dollop of mascarpone cheese. It was out of this world, satisfying in that deep down way when you combine very simple and pure tastes and they all work together creating an even better flavor.
Whenever you’re ready for fall….
