Who doesn’t love dishes with roasted sweet potato this time of year? This delicate yet hearty snack has a foundation of roasted SP, seasoned with rosemary, topped with creamy chèvre–ricotta hybrid, and finalized with some crunchy crushed pistachios. Add in some cranberries and you’re set for a festive Thanksgiving side or light hors d’oeuvres.
Pair it with a food-friendly Blaufränkisch.
The Dish
Chilly November weather makes you want warm and satiating food without putting in much effort – it’s dark at 4 pm and we’re all exhausted by the time we get home. But this festive dish requires requires next to no effort, plus you get to keep a warm oven going for 40 minutes while the SP roasts. Your home will be toasty AND smell absolutely heavenly from the fresh rosemary.
I like to let the sweet potato roast long enough that it starts to get significantly browned (but not burnt!). While you can use either just ricotta or just goat cheese, I found that doing a 50/50 mix of the two produces the perfect balance of smooth delicate creaminess and tangy goaty-ness. For me, goat cheese on its own felt overpowering with these other components.
For the best distribution of pistachios and cranberries, smash the pistrachios and chop up the cranberries. A sprinkle of pepper and drizzle of honey later, and you’re in business.
Just slice, roast, and assemble and you’re done! The subtly sweet, fruity and nutty flavors make this dish super easy to pair with a food-friendly Blaufränkisch (a what!? – read about the wine below for more).
The Wine
Blaufränkisch (blauw-fronk-keesh) is an Austrian varietal, and maybe it’s just me but something about a German or Austrian wine feels particularly festive around the holidays. Regardless of if you have that some Christmas-In-Vienna-Is-The-Best-Christmas complex, Austrian wines are well worth exploring.
A bottle of a deeply fruity, spicy, high-acid wine is a must for this dish, and Blaufränkisch does the trick: its dark fruit notes complement the dried cranberry, while its spice enhances the subtle rosemary and black pepper of the dish. The particularly high acidity of Blaufränkisch makes it beg for an edible companion, and these sweet potato rounds are just the thing.
If your go-to wine store does not have this Austrian varietal, select a Syrah instead. I found this Blaufränkisch courtesy of my fave Bond Street Wines.
Sweet Potato Rounds with Ricotta, Cranberry, and Pistachio
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish, Snack
- Cuisine: American
Description
Roasted sweet potato with salty chevre and sweet cranberries with pistachio and honey.
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 oz chèvre
- 3 oz ricotta
- 1/4 cup pistachios ((roasted, salted, and crushed))
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries ((coarsely chopped))
- honey
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Slice sweet potatoes into 1 cm thick slices. You can go even thinner if you want a crunchier base.
- Coat slices of SP in olive oil and salt.
- Place sweet potato rounds on a lined baking sheet. Add some sprigs of fresh rosemary.
- Roast for 20 minutes, then flip the slice. Roast for another 10 minutes, or until the edges start to crisp and the centers are soft.
- While the SP rounds are roasting, mix the ricotta with the chèvre.
- Spread a thick layer of the chèvre-ricotta hybrid on each round.
- Sprinkle crushed pistachios and cranberries evenly over the rounds.
- Drizzle a lil bit of honey over all of them, and then maybe a dash of black pepper. Viola!
Sydney is a 29-year old American living between France and Italy. She has a WSET Level 2 certification in wine, along with a degree in environmental engineering and an MBA. She loves exploring local farmer’s markets, haunting her favorite wine bar, and discovering new restaurants.
