Savoring Elegance: Bacon-Wrapped Sweet Potatoes with Herbed Goat Cheese
Decades ago, food became an obsession for me. Not because I desired to master the art of cooking, but because my son had so many allergies that I needed to rethink our kitchen.
Food is our fuel and our medicine and being an advocate for healthy living I find recipes are a great way for me to share my passion.
If you have read any of my previous posts, you may have figured out I LOVE sweet potatoes.
I honestly do not think they need anything besides salted butter, but on occasions when I feel like jazzing up my meal, I will sprinkle on some fresh cinnamon spice or nutmeg.
Those urges generally occur during the colder months when I want to warm my senses. At times it is the aromas I crave, more than the taste.
I recently wrote a post titled Cinnamon Soul: Nature’s Pharmacopeia, so yeah, I adore cinnamon in all its forms.
Spicing it up in the kitchen isn’t just about tantalizing your taste buds; it’s a pathway to better health. From boosting antioxidants to enhancing digestion, spices are nature’s way of adding wellness to our plates.
But when it comes to sweet potatoes, I am happy with eating them without spices, therefore I tend to overlook most sweet potato recipes.
Nothing irks me more than being passed a dish of sweet potato casserole with marshmallows during a holiday meal. It’s blasphemous.
The sweet potato is a tubular god, in my opinion, and shouldn’t be hidden under gooey white sugary mush.
It’s worse than seeing someone add coke to a good Courvoisier.
Huh?
But when I came across this recipe, my heart skipped a beat. Why on earth had I not discovered this sooner?
There are no marshmallows, no brown sugar, no cinnamon, and not a pecan in sight. Instead, there’s the King of Pork- Bacon.
But wait there’s more- CHEESE! Savory soft, goat cheese.
Below is the revelation that changed my sweet potato worship forever. I no longer see it as a god, but a goddess who should be dressed in elegance.
Bacon-Wrapped Sweet Potatoes with Herbed Goat Cheese
(Yields app. 12 wedges, easily multiplied)
Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato
2 teaspoons olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 slices bacon*
¼ cup softened goat cheese (2 oz. log)
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, minced (1 teaspoon minced)**
2 fresh sage leaves, minced (½ teaspoon minced)
12 small fresh sage leaves for garnish
12 toothpicks
parchment paper
*you can substitute dried herbs for both fresh rosemary and sage. Use a pinch of about a ¼ teaspoon of dried rosemary and 1/8 teaspoon of dried sage.
* you will need a half a strip of bacon per potato wedge.
Directions
Preheat oven to 400*F.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Peel sweet potato, rinse, and dry. Cut in half lengthwise, then into ¼-inch-wide wedges.
Place wedges in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine and set aside.
Heat the frying pan over medium-high heat. Place bacon strips in pan and cook for 4–5 minutes, until the edges are just starting to brown, but the bacon is still very underdone and pliable. Place bacon strips on a paper-towel-lined paper plate to drain. Once cool, cut each strip in half.
Set aside.
Combine goat cheese and herbs.
To assemble, place oiled sweet potato wedges on your parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Place about a teaspoon of the herbed goat cheese mixture on the center of each wedge. Wrap a half strip of bacon around the goat cheese and use a toothpick to secure the bacon ends.
Do not pierce the sweet potato.
Bake for 15 minutes until sweet potatoes are soft and the bacon is crisp.
Remove from pan to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain briefly. Remove toothpicks. Before serving, garnish each piece with a sage leaf by resting it on top of the bacon.
You can serve these bad boys as an appetizer or side dish, or you can hide in a room all alone to consume. Be sure to lick the plate and your fingers when done. It’s Ok, no one is looking.
Be sure to comment and share, it makes me happy. Thea
