Sweet potatoes are such a perfect side dish to any meal, but my favorite way to pair them is with roasted or grilled pork. Last week while I was in North Carolina, I made simple grilled pork tenderloin and decided to modify a recipe I had seen on Food52.com for sweet potatoes. Also made cheesy grits, which complimented both perfectly. I used Ina Garten’s recipe for grits: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/creamy-cheddar-grits-2312133 . I love her recipe for grits. The only thing I change is that I use less salt, a little less cheese, and I substitute the half & half for low fat milk. You can’t go wrong with this trio! It was easy and super delicious!
Serves 6
Ingredients:
- 4 medium sized sweet potatoes
- juice of 1 orange
- zest of 1 orange
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 1/2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
- 1/8 – 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 8 garlic cloves in their peel, sliced in half lengthwise
- 2 – 3 Tbsp olive oil
- Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- leaves from 4 sprigs of fresh sage, chopped
- about 2 Tbsp fresh thyme (I like to remove the tiny leaves from the stem by running my fingers down the stem from top to bottom; they come right off)
- 1/4 cup or more crumbled goat cheese
Instructions:
- Mix the orange zest, juice of the orange, balsamic vinegar, dark brown sugar, and red pepper flakes and simmer until it is hot and bubbly and slightly thickened.
- Wash the sweet potatoes thoroughly and cut them, unpeeled in half and then cut the halves in wedges. Place them in a large bowl.
- Add olive oil to the the sweet potatoes and stir with a wooden spoon to coat. Remove 8 cloves of garlic from the head of garlic. Leave them with their peel on, and cut each clove in half lengthwise. Add the garlic to the potatoes. Add the chopped sage leaved. Add the warmed orange juice mix and toss to coat the sweet potatoes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a roasting pan by drizzling with a little olive oil. Place the potatoes in a roasting pan in a single layer and pour the glaze over the potatoes. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Roast in a preheated oven for about 40 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon 1/2 way through roasting. Check with a fork or toothpick to make sure they are tender before removing. The edges should be slightly browned. Before serving you can remove the peels of any garlic cloves that have not loosened during roasting.
- Place them on a serving platter. Drizzle any orange juice glaze that remains in the pan over the potatoes. Sprinkle the thyme leaves and goat cheese over the top and serve immediately. Left overs warms quite nicely the next day.
On The Slab 