A Simple Sweet Potato
Never have I been subjected to sweet potatoes sullied by the addition of sugar and marshmallows. This is pure insanity to me. Kind of like taking a taste of soy sauce and saying, “Yeah, it’s salty, but you know what would make it better? Put some salt in it.” Sweet potatoes are sweet. It’s right in the name. Don’t mess with them.
The idea of a vegetable side dish that looks more like a super-rich dessert is disturbing enough, but the truth is, sweet potatoes are one of the most delicious, well-balanced foods in existence. Baked in a hot oven until they get all squishy, they are so hard to resist that I always get a blast of steam in my face when I plunge the knife in the crackly skin. Then I top it with small dabs of Earth Balance and flaky, crunchy Maldon sea salt for a comforting lunch that somehow seems indulgent—creamy, sweet, salty, buttery, utter perfection.
This entry was posted on Monday, October 5th, 2009 at 10:59 PM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
October 6th, 2009 at 12:57 AM
Sea salt, you say? Sweet potatoes and I are still in a fairly new relationship, and so far I’ve been relying on EB and a liberal sprinkle of cinnamon for flavoring. I’ll have to try it your suggestion, however!
October 6th, 2009 at 10:02 PM
Admittedly, I am in love with sea salt, but the salty crunch is such a great contrast to the potato’s sweetness. If I steam and mash sweet potatoes, I add pepper too, but I never do when I bake them, though I have absolutely no reason why not.
October 7th, 2009 at 3:17 AM
Mmm, I love sweet potatoes!
October 7th, 2009 at 11:07 PM
THANK YOU! My family thinks I’m odd because I have always hated the sweet potatoes at thanksgiving. That sugary syrup thing they got going on is so gross.