Summer Sweet Potatoes With Tomatoes (Printable Version)

Tender roasted sweet potatoes topped with cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh basil pesto.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Vegetables

01 - 4 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed and halved lengthwise
02 - 1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved
03 - Fresh basil leaves, for garnish

→ Dairy

04 - 7 oz mozzarella balls (bocconcini or ciliegine), drained and halved

→ Pesto

05 - 1 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
06 - ¼ cup toasted pine nuts (or walnuts)
07 - 1 garlic clove
08 - ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
09 - ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
10 - Salt and pepper, to taste

→ Olive Oil & Seasoning

11 - 2 tbsp olive oil (for roasting)
12 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

# Directions:

01 - Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
02 - Brush sweet potato halves with 2 tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place cut-side down on the tray. Roast for 30 minutes, until tender and lightly caramelized.
03 - While the sweet potatoes roast, prepare the pesto: In a food processor, blend basil, toasted pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until smooth. Adjust seasoning as needed.
04 - Remove sweet potatoes from the oven and let cool slightly. Flip them cut-side up.
05 - Top each sweet potato half with cherry tomatoes and mozzarella. Return to the oven for 5 minutes, just until the cheese softens.
06 - Remove from oven, drizzle generously with fresh pesto, and garnish with basil leaves. Serve warm or at room temperature.

# Quick Tips:

01 -
  • The way the sweet, caramelized potatoes play against the bright, acidic tomatoes creates this perfect balance that feels like sunshine on a plate
  • You can assemble most of it while the potatoes roast, making it feel fancy without actually requiring much effort
  • The homemade pesto takes five minutes but makes everything taste like you have been cooking all afternoon
02 -
  • Sweet potatoes vary wildly in size, so start checking them at 25 minutes because nobody likes a dry, mealy potato
  • Do not skip the parchment paper, the natural sugars in sweet potatoes caramelize aggressively and will stick to metal
  • The pesto can be made ahead and stored in the fridge with a thin layer of oil on top to prevent browning
03 -
  • Room temperature ingredients for the pesto help it emulsify better, so take the cheese and garlic out of the fridge early
  • Reserve a little pasta cooking water if you are serving this alongside pasta, it helps the pesto cling to everything beautifully

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