Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Fresh Figs

Happy Friday, friends! I have a short, sweet, and salty post for you!

 

 

I am slightly crazy/obsessive and I plan our weekly dinners about 1-2 weeks in advance and I always struggle with what side dishes to serve. I like to eat my vegetables in the form of salad, but when it comes to carbohydrates I still haven’t quite figured it out.

You see, I like to eat my carbs in the form of dessert, but Tony is all about the gainz and eating carbs at dinner is critical so I typically rotate between sweet potatoes, Lebanese potatoes, bulghur, and maybe basmati rice. Super crazy stuff.

 

 

Sweet potatoes are kind of one of my favorite foods and I try to serve them as often as possible… I never feel bad about eating a sweet potato. They are nutritious, delicious, and extremely versatile, which is great when I am serving them every other day! 

My favorite way to prepare sweet potatoes is to cube them, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, cinnamon, and chipotle, and then roast them in the oven for a couple of hours until they are soft and crispy. It is delightful… But since I’m trying to avoid weeknight-dinner-boredom in the kitchen, I thought of the brilliant idea of making another Jerusalem: A Cookbook recipe starring sweet potatoes, “Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Fresh Figs.” Jerusalem for the win! 

 

 

I’ve had my eye on this recipe for quite some time and since it’s officially fig season in Italy, I finally gave it a try last week and oh, my goodness, I’m slightly obsessed… This recipe was good, figgin’ good (sorry, I had to). It is the perfect side accompaniment of salty, sweet, spicy, and creamy and an excellent (and creative) way to serve sweet potatoes! Make it tonight. Boom. Done. Roasted.

 

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Fresh Figs Recipe from Jerusalem: A Cookbook:

4 small sweet potatoes (2 ¼ pounds/1 kilogram in total)

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Scant 3 tablespoons/40 milliliters balsamic vinegar

1 ½ tablespoons/20 grams superfine sugar

12 green onions, halved lengthwise and cut into 1 ½-inch/4 centimeter segments

1 red chile, thinly sliced

6 ripe figs (8 ½ ounces/240 grams in total), quartered

5 ounces/150 grams soft goat’s milk cheese (optional)

Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 475°F / 240°C.
2. Wash the sweet potatoes, halve them lengthwise, and then cut each half again similarly into 3 long wedges. Mix with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt, and some black pepper. Spread the wedges out, skin side down, on a baking sheet and cook for about 25 minutes, until soft but not mushy. Remove from the oven and leave to cool down.
3. To make the balsamic reduction, place the balsamic vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat and simmer for 2 to 4 minutes, until it thickens. Be sure to remove the pan from the heat when the vinegar is still runnier than honey; it will continue to thicken as it cools. Stir in a drop of water before serving if it does become too thick to drizzle.
4. Arrange the sweet potatoes on a serving platter. Heat the remaining oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the green onions and chile. Fry for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring often to make sure not to burn the chile. Spoon the oil, onions, and chile over the sweet potatoes. Dot the figs among the wedges and then drizzle over the balsamic reduction. Serve at room temperature. Crumble the cheese over the top, if using.