Sweet Potato Rounds w/ Black Truffle Cashew Cream
Simply put, this dish is perfect for the fall & winter holiday table. It’s easy to prepare with just a few ingredients, nutrient dense, satisfying & highly nutritious with fiber, vitamins, minerals plus an ‘I can’t get that delicious dip out of my head’ aftermath. Once this recipe is part of your repertoire, mix it up by adding different herbs & spices to the sweet potatoes & dip; also slathering the dip atop the rounds & adding toppings such as walnuts & basil or arugula. Take advantage of the opportunity to play around with cutting the sweet potatoes into batons (did someone say oven frites? …more on that later). Some suggestions are listed here below, beyond this super simple recipe. Here we go!
Sweet Potato
Rounds
2 large sweet potatoes* (here we used Okinawa Sweet Potatoes w/ white flesh)
extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
flaky sea salt such as Maldon; Himalayan pink salt is also good.
Heat oven to mark 385 F
To prepare these, wash & dry the sweet potato, then cut away the ends. Cut into 1/2” to 3/4” thick rounds. Place rounds on the baking tray - no need to spread out just yet - First we will drizzle evoo or coconut oil over with a bit of salt & toss until everything is nice & slick. Next, arrange so in a single layer, not touching if possible. Then add to oven & cook roast for about 15 - 18 min or until desired texture/hue of golden brown is achieved. Depending on your equipment and which shelf these are on, you may want to flip half way through cooking - so best to keep an eye out.
Truffle
Cashew Cream
1 c cashews - organic unsalted - whole or pieces
1 - 2 T black truffle oil (one with just black truffle & evoo)
2 c water for boiling / soaking + about 1/4 c cool filtered water
Boil 2 c water in a kettle. Place 1 c cashews in heat proof bowl. Pour hot water over cashews. Let sit loosely covered with a plate on the counter for a couple hours. Best if soaked cashews are are cooled room temp when processing for a smooth dip. If there is limited time, soak for a min of 20 minutes, then run under cool water before processing. Drain cashews using something like a mesh strainer, then add to processor. Add about 1/4 c cool filtered water + pinch high quality salt. Blitz until creamy & smooth. Next, slowly add to emulsify 1-2 T truffle oil to taste. Add more water or oil as needed to desired flavor/consistency. Makes about 1 c dip or spread.
Okinawa Sweet Potato Rounds w/ Truffle Cashew Cream plated; as written above. Enjoy!
There is much variety when it comes to sweet potatoes. Shown above are the Garnet variety with orange flesh & red-purple skin tossed in evoo ready for roasting. Follow recipe as above for the Okinawan variety. Note option to use parchments paper as needed. These rounds are also delicious tossed with cinnamon, sea salt & a drizzle of melted coconut oil before roasting.
Here we use stokes purple potato. These tend to roast up a bit differently, yielding a somewhat tougher texture. My go to with this variety is to roast whole, then cut into rounds after so the flesh remains tender. Play around & see what works for you.
For this method :: Heat to oven mark 400F. Wash & dry the potato, then rub skin with evoo or coconut oil. With the prongs of a fork, make a few holes to help release air as the potato roasts. Place a sheet pan below the potato to catch anything released while roasting. Cooking time will depend on size of potato, but the roasting whole will be somewhere in the neighborhood of around 30 minutes for a medium sized potato. Then flesh is soft, remove from oven until cool to touch. With a sharp knife, cut into rounds.
Basic Cashew Cream
Follow the above Truffle Cashew Cream recipe, although in place of truffle oil, add extra virgin olive oil. Lemon, garlic cloves and nutritional yeast added to the basic cashew cream can be a plant based alternative to traditional ricotta in squash lasagna or stuffed peppers.