Two summers ago we stayed in Falmouth, MA for our annual Cape Cod family vacation. One night we ordered pizza from a restaurant called Stone L’Oven and every last pizza was delectable. My favorites were the fig and prosciutto pizza (which I already created a recipe for) and a wonderful sweet potato pizza. Nate’s cousin Sara and I went back and forth endlessly about which one we liked more. In the end we couldn’t decide, they were both amazing!

I have finally recreated the sweet potato pizza in my own kitchen and it was delicious! This pizza has all kinds of wonderful ingredients, from salty bacon and gorgonzola cheese to sweet caramelized onions and sweet potatoes. Top it all off with a balsamic glaze and you’re in heaven!

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A note on the balsamic glaze – I used to make it myself until I discovered STAR’s Modena Creamy Balsamic Glaze. Their glaze is the perfect consistency for drizzling on pizza, so that’s what I use now. I highly recommend it.

Sweet Potato and Bacon Pizza

 

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This pizza is the perfect combination of salty and sweet!

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• Pizza crust of your choice (I use this recipe or good naan bread for my crust)
• olive oil
• 1 fresh garlic clove per pizza you make
• caramelized onions
• fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced (regular shredded mozzarella cheese works, too, but I love fresh)
• gorgonzola cheese, small chunks
• sweet potato, cubed
• bacon, cooked and chopped
• fresh spinach
• salt and pepper
• balsamic glaze (if you want to make your own, click here for instructions. STAR makes a bottled balsamic glaze that I love - click here for more info.)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Toss cubed sweet potatoes in olive oil and sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer on a cooking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes, until soft.
3. Roll out pizza crust then brush on a thin layer of olive oil across the surface. Push fresh garlic clove through a garlic press then spread with your fingers over the oiled crust. Top pizza with caramelized onions, gorgonzola cheese, spinach, sweet potatoes, and bacon. Finish with mozzarella cheese.
4. Bake pizza how you normally do it for your crust recipe.
5. Remove from oven, sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper then drizzle with balsamic glaze. Serve!

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Before we get into the heart of today’s post, I need to whet your appetite. You do not want to miss today’s recipe. It comes from my sister-in-law Cora and is amazing. Appetite whetted? Good.

Way back in the day, I was an International Relations major at Boston University, with a focus on developing countries. When I met the folks at ONE about a year ago, I was super excited to get involved and help support their work, especially since one of their main focuses is world hunger. My food blogging and international relations lives were coming together in a very cool way. The folks at ONE have been amazing to work with, too. Win, win, win!

Today is Sweet Potato Day, a special day coordinated with ONE where a big group of loving, talented bloggers are all writing about sweet potatoes to raise awareness on the issue of hunger. Why the sweet potato, you ask? We are trying to make the sweet potato famous! It is nutritional and hearty and is saving lives in Africa, making it a worthy mascot for the cause! (Click here to read the Sweet Potato Day kick-off post I wrote for the ONE website.)

As part of the big day, I am sharing a keeper of a recipe with you below. It is so so so so good. These Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos come from my culinarily-talented sister-in-law, Cora. The first night she made them, she called me simply to tell me how delicious her dinner was. I knew I would have to make it myself pronto! Each element of this “recipe” is great on its own: the black beans are deliciously sweet, the sweet potatoes are simple and flavorful with a hint of spice, and the slaw is fresh and has bite. When you put them all together, you get something really special.

To support Sweet Potato Day, I hope that you will visit ONE’s website and see how you can get involved. There are two main issues I would love for you to check out. First, the budget. You can learn more on the budget issue and send a letter to your Congressperson on this page. Second, food. ONE has oodles of great info on food and hunger on this page, where you can also sign a petition to encourage world leaders to make hunger and food a top priority. We really can make a difference. I am blessed with abundance and want to do my part to help share the love. I hope you’ll join me!

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos

 

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Author: Cora Walling (Jane's awesome sister-in-law)

Ingredients

• Roasted Sweet Potatoes (see recipe below)
• Aunt Kathy's Black Beans (see recipe below)
• Jalapeño Slaw (see recipe below)
• Shredded cheese
• Sour Cream
• Flour tortillas

Instructions

1. Stuff all the good food above into your flour tortillas, eat, and enjoy!

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Roasted Sweet Potatoes

 

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Author: Cora Wallin (Jane's awesome sister-in-law)

Ingredients

• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Chili powder
• Oregano
• Cumin

Instructions

1. Spread cubed sweet potatoes on a large baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over sweet potatoes evenly, to coat. Sprinkle sweet potatoes with salt, pepper, chili powder, oregano and cumin. Mix and move sweet potatoes around on the sheet to coat with spices. Roast in a 350 degree F oven while you prepare the beans. Cook until soft then remove from oven, 10-20 minutes.

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Aunt Kathy's Black Beans

 

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Author: From Cora Wallin, slightly modified by Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• 2 (16oz) cans black beans, mostly drained
• ½ cup water
• ⅔ cup olive oil
• ⅛ cup vinegar
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 bay leaves
• 2 T fresh, minced garlic
• 2 tsp salt
• ½ tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• ⅓ onion, chopped

Instructions

1. Sauté onions. Combine all ingredients, including sautéed onions, in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 20 minutes.

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Jalapeño Slaw

 

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Author: Jane Maynard via Cora Wallin

Ingredients

• ¼ cup lime juice
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• ¾ teaspoon kosher or coarse salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• 1 16-ounce package cabbage and carrot coleslaw
• 1 jalapeño, sliced thin and chopped (add more if you want it hotter)

Instructions

1. Mix all the ingredients except the coleslaw together in a large bowl. Add coleslaw and toss to coat.

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Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos from This Week for Dinner
Truffle Sweet Potato Frites from Savory Sweet Life
Sweet Potato & Chicken Sausage Stew from Chefdruck
Honey Sweet Potato Biscuits from Food for My Family
Sweet Potato Burgers from Cutie Booty Cakes
What’s Gaby Cooking and Sweet Potato Day
The MIssion List and Sweet Potato Day
World Moms Blog and Sweet Potato Day
Go Graham Go and Sweet Potato Day
Cranberry Sweet Potato Crumb Cake from Barbara Bakes
Bourbon and Marshmallow Sweet Potatoes from Boston Mamas
Documama and Sweet Potato Day
Sweet Potato Bread Pudding from Eat the Love
Lamb Shanks with Sweet Potatoes and Sausage from Kitchen Gadget Girl
Sweet Potato Love To Help End World Hunger from Love That Max
Celebrating Sweet Potato Day with Mom Trends
Sweet Potato Chili from Righteous Bacon
Cooking Sweet Potatoes for Picky Eaters from Rookie Moms
Sweet Potatoes and Global Health from Third Eye Mom
Indian Spiced Sweet Potato Kielbasa ONE Skillet Bake from Tickled Red
Sweet, Dude, Sweet Potato Breakfast Hash from Helen Jane
Oh My Sweet Potato Apple Bake from Bowl Licker
Sweet Potato and Peanut Gratin from Non-Reactive Pan
Sweet Potato Fries from When You Wake Up a Mother  (also found on Million Moms Challenge)

Have you ever had Japanese sweet potatoes? I didn’t know what they were until they showed up in my CSA bag one week. I mentioned them quickly in a weekly menu post previously, but I would like to talk about them a bit more and share how to make roasted Japanese sweet potatoes, which are pretty much heaven on a plate.

What are Japanese Sweet Potatoes?

So what are Japanese sweet potatoes anyway? Apparently Olivia Munn thinks they are the fountain of youth. I just think they are a super healthy, crazy delicious tuber that you should definitely buy if you ever see them at the store or as an option in your CSA. They are a sweet potato with brown or red skin and whitish flesh that turns yellow upon cooking. We found Japanese sweet potatoes to have a buttery, almost squash-like flavor that is divine and their texture is a little bit different than other sweet potatoes. We like to roast Japanese sweet potatoes, cut them in half and top with butter, salt and pepper. Simple, healthy and delicious. (Click here to read more about the history and origin of Japanese sweet potatoes, it’s pretty interesting!)

What do you do with Japanese Sweet Potatoes?

Once I discovered how delicious Japanese sweet potatoes are, I ordered a whole bunch from my CSA. To preserve them I  roasted all of the sweet potatoes at once, placed in freezer bags after they cooled and then stored them in the freezer. I don’t know about you, but one of my major barriers to eating sweet potatoes is remembering to start cooking them early enough to actually have them done by dinnertime. Which is why I’m super excited to have a whole bunch already cooked and ready to go in the freezer. As long as I remember to defrost them when we need them, I think we should be good to go!

The process for roasting them is super simple, but I will share the “recipe” below so you can replicate how we cooked them (and so I can remember what I did myself!). Seriously, if you ever see these at your market, grab a few and give them a try. Nate and I really love them, but they are kind of hard to find.

Roasted Japanese Sweet Potatoes

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

60 mins

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

 

Author: Jane Maynard

Cuisine: Side Dish

Ingredients

• Japanese sweet potatoes (as many as you want to eat!)
• Butter or olive oil or coconut oil
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400º F.
2. Wash Japanese sweet potatoes then poke them with a fork in several places.
3. Place prepared sweet potatoes on a rimmed cookie sheet or roasting pan. place on a cookie sheet or roasting pan. Cook for approximately 1 hour, until knife pierces sweet potatoes easily.
4. Cut open, drizzle with butter (or olive oil or coconut oil if you want to keep things vegan and dairy free!), salt and pepper and enjoy!

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OTHER RECIPES YOU MAY LIKE:

• Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos
• Sweet Potato and Bacon Pizza
• Sweet Potato Souffle

EQUIPMENT I USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:

• Aluminum Half Sheet Pan
• Le Creuset Butter Crock

I don’t have much to say about this recipe except that it’s wonderful. I discovered sweet potato souffle last year when my friend Mindy made it for our Thanksgiving dinner. She got the recipe from her sister who got from a friend who got it from a friend and, well, you get the idea. It’s one of those recipes.

Well, for whatever reason, this recipe was not in my recipe box. But that situation has been remedied. The sweet potato souffle recipe now has an honored place in my {virtual} recipe box and is one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes…along with my great-grandmother’s cranberry slush. (What? You haven’t had cranberry slush yet? Better get it on your Thanksgiving menu plan, folks. Trust me.)

Note – I have adapted this recipe a bit from what I posted last year, after making it twice myself. Go with this version.

Sweet Potato Souffle

 

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From Someone Somewhere...with a few Jane Maynard adaptations

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• Base:
• ¾ cup sugar (over the years I've reduced more and more until I didn't even add sugar at all, so consider the sugar optional, but at the very least you can definitely do less than ¾ cup)
• 3 eggs
• 5 roasted and mashed up sweet potatoes (I usually do 6)
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• ½ tsp. salt
• Topping:
• 1 c. brown sugar
• ⅓ c. flour
• ⅓ c. butter, either softened to room temp or cut into a bunch of little chunks
• 1 c. chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Mix the "Base" ingredients together in a medium-large bowl. Spread in a 9x13 pyrex dish.
3. Mix together the brown sugar, flour and butter with a pastry blender or fork until crumbly.
4. Mix in the chopped pecans, then spread topping evenly over the sweet potatoes. I like to use the pastry blender even after adding the pecans to crunch them up a bit more.
5. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

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