I have two rather sad-looking sweet potatoes sitting on my counter waiting to be used. I can’t remember what I had in mind for them, but they’ve been sitting there long enough that I need to use them before they totally die on me.
We use a lot of sage at Thanksgiving and since the holiday is just around the corner, it’s time to start experimenting with some new side dishes. I love sage in stuffing and with mashed potatoes, but I don’t think I’ve had it with sweet potatoes.
The sage pesto I used in the Roasted Cherry Tomato & Arugula Salad was excellent and I’ve have been looking for a reason to use it again. The difference with this pesto is that I left out the extra virgin olive oil and replaced it with canned coconut milk. I already used it to puree the sweet potatoes so why not go all the way with it?
You can easily scale this recipe up or down. For a large crowd, simply cut up extra potatoes. The pesto recipe makes quite a bit so you won’t run out. If you’re cooking for yourself, the pesto will hold in the fridge for 4 – 5 days, or you can freeze the excess.
This dish is very low fuss – just throw the potatoes in the oven to roast and blend all of the pesto ingredients in a food processor. Voila – you’ll have something a bit different and festive looking for your holiday table!
Ingredients (serves 4)
2 medium sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into ½ in cubes)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
½ cup canned coconut milk
Pesto Ingredients (makes about 15 – 20 servings)
½ cup pine nuts
½ cup pistachios (dry roasted, unsalted)
1 ½ cups fresh sage – well packed (about 1.5 ounces)
½ cup arugula – well packed
¾ cup canned coconut milk
½ tbsp. chopped garlic
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degress.
2. Toss cubed sweet potatoes in salt and pepper. Spread over a baking sheet and bake for 40 – 50 minutes until potatoes are soft and thoroughly cooked.
3. Place all pesto ingredients in a food processor and blend well. Place in a storage container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
4. When potatoes are cooked, place them in a food processor with the coconut milk and pulse until well-blended and desired smoothness is achieved.
5. Serve sweet potatoes while hot with a dollop of the sage pesto.
Vee@VeesEasyVegan says
Hi Amy, This sage pesto looks very tasty. I really enjoy other ways to make pesto besides the original. I am also a huge sweet potato fan. Glad you were able to incorporate them into this dish before they were not useful. It all mixes very well.
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Amy says
Thanks, Vicki. I love original pesto as well, but it’s nice to try shaking things up every once in a while!