Sweet Potatoes with Apples and Maple-Sage Butter

Cooking for Kids

This Autumn dish may not look like typical kiddie food but my charge’s love it! The ingredients come from the perfect Autumn harvest.

The roasted sweet potatoes have a lush, tender texture and great flavor. When paired with maple syrup and apples, they make a deliciously sweet side that works with anything from steak, pork, chicken, to roasted turkey. Use firm, tart Granny Smith or McIntosh apples, or crisp slightly sweeter Pink Lady apples for this dish. Since it’s apple season and the kids I care for love apples I tripled the amount of apples in the dish. It is the yummiest new recipes I’ve tried in ages.

You Will Need:

Apples

1-1/2 to 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled, halved crosswise and cut into 3/4-inch-thick wedges

2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt and pepper

2 tablespoons butter

3 medium to large tart apples quartered, cored, cut into 16-wedges and wedges cut in half (recipe calls for one apple but I used more since the kids love apples)

Sweet Potatoes

1 tablespoon fresh sage

1 teaspoon pure maple syrup

What to Do:

1. Position a rack in the top third of the oven and heat the oven to 475 F.

2. In a large bowl toss the sweet potatoes with the oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and a little bit of black pepper. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a large, rimmed backing sheet. Roast for 10-minutes; then flip the potatoes and continue roasting until tender and browned in spots (about another 5-minutes).

3. While the potatoes roast, heat the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted and begins to brown, about 1- to 2- minutes. Add the apples in a single layer and brown on both sides, I- to 2-minutes per side. Add the sage and stir until wilted, about 30-seconds. Take skillet off the heat and stir in the lemon juice and maple syrup. With a spatula, scrape the apples and butter into the bowl used for tossing the potatoes.

4. When the potatoes are done roasting, add them tot he apples and gently combine with the spatula. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

References:

Photos by Stephanie Felzenberg
Recipe from
The Best Of Fine Cooking – COOK FRESH Magazine. 81 Delicious Recipes. Winter 2013.