Once I discovered sweet potatoes were so much more than a side dish loaded with butter, sugar, pecans and marshmallow cream, they became one of my go-to pantry staples. They show up on the dinner table roasted, grilled, mashed and tucked in whenever and wherever possible. Sweet potatoes are fantastic as a year-round staple yet they shine in the fall. These colorful beauties add depth in flavor and color splash to a dish.
I am curious. Do you ever take a sauce or taste combination from one part of your life to another?
Practically every evening I prepare a simple salad of spinach, walnuts, blue cheese and dried cranberries. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar with a twist of cracked black pepper finishes it off perfectly. And then it dawned on me… blue cheese and sweet potatoes are fantastic together. Why not transfer my nightly salad routine to this pantry staple? These sweet potato beauties are piled high with walnuts, dried cranberries, blue cheese and then finished off just like my salad.
I call these “coins,” because they’re shaped like a coin. Perfectly sized for finger foods, these coins can be premade in advance of the arrival of guests and then finished in the oven when you’re ready to serve.
Don’t feel like serving them as an appetizer? No problem. Simply transfer them to a casserole dish and serve as a side dish.
SWEET POTATO AND BLUE CHEESE “COINS”
Makes 18-20 slices
Ingredients
3 small to medium-sized sweet potatoes
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup chopped dried cranberries (I use the Craisin brand.)
¼ cup crumbled blue cheese
Cracked black pepper
Garnish with balsamic vinegar
Instructions
1. Add 2L of water with salt to pot on stove and bring to a boil.
2. Peel sweet potatoes and cut in half.
3. Add sweet potatoes to boiling water and boil until knife can easily slip in, approximately 20 minutes. Drain and set aside potatoes on cutting board.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
5. Slice potatoes a quarter-of-an-inch thick and lay on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil.
6. Evenly place on each “coin” the following ingredients: walnuts, dried cranberries and blue cheese crumbles. Finish off each coin with a sprinkle of black pepper.
7. Bake for 15 minutes and serve. Extra credit if you drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
Eat well, my friends.
Lyndi
Arkansas Women Blogger memberLyndi Fultz writes about living and eating well from her life in beautiful Northwest Arkansas at nwafoodie. Much of her blogging inspiration comes from this gem of a place, which she refers to as the proverbial land of milk-and-honey. Read more related to cooking, entertaining, gadget suggestions, ingredient explorations, local finds, local restaurant treasures, kitchen tour spotlights, and always with a healthy and simplistic approach.