Last night, as I contemplated vegetable options for my dinner party, I was overwhelmed by the unmistakable craving for sweet potatoes. It had been a chilly day, overcast and predictive of rain, and by the time evening rolled around my hankering (yes, I use this word. And almost in earnest, too) had built to such a mighty intensity that I spared myself any futile efforts towards other vegetables. I find the almost shocking sweetness of these tubers, as a palatable indication of the complex carbohydrates and dense nutrient profile they offer, to chase away the cold with singular efficiency. Bored with the terribly overdone idea of sweet potatoes roasted with brown sugar or male syrup (of which I am admittedly a fan,) I desired a more savory rendering to accompany my rosemary- marinated pork loin. Sweet potatoes are one of the very few exceptions I make in my culinary life, preferring them cooked in butter than in olive oil. The damages created by holiday feasting in full evidence, however (bursting buttons and split seams, anyone?) I wanted them to be less… excessive. No butter, no sugar. Not wanting to compromise their lushness either, I realized the following: though they aren’t related to potatoes, we treat sweet potatoes in exactly the same way as les pommes de terres. The French are very much in the habit of cooking potatoes in duck or goose fat, and I find this to be the only potato preparation that actually tempts me. So why not? Sweet potatoes tossed in a smidge of duck fat, with salt and pepper. A bit of animal fat, yes, but of the healthful kind (ducks and geese contain an amino acid that we lack, and which therefore makes their fat extremely beneficial to us.) I roasted them as plain medallions, but they’d carry the flavors of either rosemary, thyme, or sage delightfully. If my pork hadn’t been so thoroughly perfumed with rosemary, this is the one I would have chosen.
If you have any leftovers, cube them and toss them into warm quinoa! Add pecans and you have a lovely lunch, add chickpeas and you have a one-pot veggy dinner.
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