Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Toasted Pine Nuts, Arugula and Balsamic Glaze

Post and images by guest blogger, Rebecca White, of A Pleasant Little Kitchen. 

Visit her full blog or find out more about her here. 

Confession: I regularly feed my children sweet potatoes and never eat them myself.

gasp

I know. Making children eat vegetables that you won’t eat yourself seems a bit…dishonest? tricky? not right? Well I do this frequently when it comes to sweet potatoes, because…confession: I don’t really like sweet potatoes.

As a recipe developer, one who loves food and one that encourages people to try new foods, it’s hard to fess up to food dislikes. So I’m just going to tell you now the foods I flat out refuse to eat:

peanut butter

bananas

nuts (except pine nuts)

canned artichokes

capers

green olives

And of course, there’s sweet potatoes.

However, recently I decided to act on what I frequently tell people to do:

Try something new. Eat something you thought you didn’t like. Be open to new food.

I felt like it was time to revisit the sweet potato and give it another try. In hopes to enjoy it, I knew the sweet potato needed pizzazz. But what?

I needed Market Street.

Sometimes all it takes for inspiration is to wander around the grocery store and look for something that sounds good. This is what I did for the great sweet potato revival. I walked the aisles of Market Street (sans kids, because…school) and found what I hoped to find. Delicious inspiration.

The potatoes were going to be roasted with thyme, I knew that much. I also knew something green needed to top the roasted veg because a pop of color always helps make a recipe shine. Green onions were my original choice for this topper, but while browsing the fresh produce I saw a little yellow discount sticker on the organic arugula.

Mmmmm….chopped arugula to top the potatoes will not only add color, BUT also more of a bite and fresh spice. Plus I could have a few salads this week for lunch. Oh, and did I mention the price drop was also appealing?

The dish was well on its way, but it still needed crunch and a bit of acid.

I must continue to wander.

Aisle after aisle I looked and considered. Oooooooh, balsamic vinegar. The acidic element is now fulfilled. But crunch, what about crunch?

During this Market Street treasure hunt I was briefly distracted by chocolate chips in the baking aisle (because…chocolate). This distraction almost felt serendipitous, because while perusing the chocolate chips I spied out of the corner of my eye the only nut I enjoyed eating.

Pine nuts.

Done and done. Market Street gave me all the inspiration I needed to make a side dish that was going to mark a new phase in my food journey: enjoying sweet potatoes.

Once home, the potatoes roasted while the pine nuts toasted and the balsamic vinegar reduced. It was a new way to show my children that yes…mommy does eat her sweet potatoes…just like you should too.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Toasted Pine Nuts, Arugula and Balsamic Glaze

Serves 4

Author note: This recipe is easily doubled. Serve it as a side, or even as a main dish with quinoa and a runny egg.

Ingredients:

7 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces

1 1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

10 thyme branches, tied

1/2 cup pine nuts

1 1/2 cups arugula, chopped

2/3 cups balsamic

Directions:

1) Heat oven to 450 degrees.

2) Place the olive oil, salt and red pepper flakes into a large bowl. Stir.

3) Add the sweet potatoes to the olive oil mixture and stir well to coat the potatoes.

4) Place the potatoes and thyme on a rimmed baking sheet. Spread evenly into one layer. Cook for 25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the oven once roasted.

5) Meanwhile, place the pine nuts into a small skillet and cook over medium low heat for 5-8 minutes. Shake the skillet frequently to prevent burning. Set aside.

6) Place the balsamic vinegar into a small sauce pan. Heat on high and let boil uncovered for 7-10 minutes, or until the vinegar is reduced and coats the back of a spoon.

7) Remove the thyme from the potatoes. Place the potatoes onto a platter. Top with the toasted pine nuts and chopped arugula. Drizzle the preferred amount of balsamic glaze on top. Serve warm.