Sweet Potato and Sage...A Perfect Love Affair!

Fresh herbs always bring Italy to mind. It seems as though the herbs they grow there are so much more flavorful, for some reason. Maybe it's the Tuscan sun... Maybe it's just that being in Italy is so much more flavorful!

One summer, while traveling through Tuscany, we drove down from Florence to a charming, little hill town called Pienza. It had been a long day of travel from Florence, and we were tired and hungry. The host of our rustic farmhouse, L' Olmo (highly recommend staying here!), advised us to try La Pergola Restaurant, and added that it was probably the only place open at that late hour. He also said the food was "good". We headed out, in our fiat rental car, with little hope of anything worth writing home about.

We made our way, up the curving country road, to a tiny little bistro. Upon arrival, I noticed that the front was comprised of the most amazing herb garden! I wandered up the pathway to the front door, with the smell of sage and basil wafting through the air. Well, this was a good start, I thought.

"The Chef", as he is now fondly known, treated us to the most delectable meal we had, had so far, after a full week in Italy. He used his herb garden as his palette and painted rich,colorful dishes that reflected the local cuisine at it's best.

That nights’ meal impressed us to the point that we had our next two dinners there . The chef took a liking to us (who wouldn't!) and made us a special tasting menu on our second night, that I will remember forever. It was filled with special dishes made from the local bounty of vegetables and farm raised animals, always seasoned with the vibrant herbs from his garden. The Chef had several types of sage in his garden and used them generously. We also bonded over his luscious basil, which I am a sucker for! But, we're talking about sage...

I've recreated a pasta dish that we had at that adorable bistro, using what I call "swoodles" or sweet potato noodles. I love the combination of sweet potatoes with the herbaceous sage and nutty flavor of the browned butter. And, of course, I must add creamy goat cheese whenever possible! You may have noticed a "goatish" theme running through my recipes. Yes, it's an addiction, but at least it's Plant Parodox approved! I also, tend to toss a little parmesan cheese onto just about everything. Also, approved! Thank goodness...

This recipe is so easy and comes together fairly quickly. Go ahead and add more or less of any ingredient. I added the requisite sage, but also some fresh basil and oregano. Use whatever strikes your fancy, but the sage is a must. Also, you could easily substitute any other kind of noodle and it would be delicious. The smell of sage will always take me back to Pienza...and The Chef...

To start this dish, you need to peel a couple of sweet potatoes and spiralize them to make the swoodles. If you don't have a spiralizer (I highly recommend getting one!), you can use a potato peeler and make little ribbons. Mine is the one in the picture here and very simple. There are all kinds of fancy ones, so if you think you are going to spiralize a lot, you might want the upgraded version. This one works great for me and doesn't take up much room in my tiny kitchen! I also use scissors to cut the spirals after a few turns, so that they are not too long and difficult to manage.

Set these gorgeous, bright orange swoodles aside and get your pan on medium-high heat, to crisp up the prosciutto. If you chop it into little pieces, it will cook quickly. Once browned and crisp, take it out of the pan and put onto a plate, covered with foil, to keep it warm.

The next step is cooking the swoodles. Drizzle a little olive oil in the pan and toss them in with a little salt and pepper, to cook on medium heat, until they just start to get soft, about 5 minutes. Remove them from the pan and add them to the plate with the prosciutto, to stay warm.

Using the same pan, with all of the prosciutto bits in it, throw in a couple of tablespoons of butter, to make the browned butter sauce. You have to use regular butter with milk solids, as that is what is really "browning". Clarified butter or ghee won't work for this. Turn up the heat to medium-high and watch it carefully, swirling every minute or so as it bubbles and starts to turn a dark golden brown. This happens very quickly, so don't run off to put the laundry in the dryer! The nutty smell of the butter browning is something to behold...you actually won't want to leave the pan, once you are entranced by this heavenly smell.

As soon as the butter is browned, add in the fresh herbs and let them sizzle and pop for a minute, then immediately add back in, the swoodles and prosciutto.

Toss them together and turn off the heat. Crumble the goat cheese over the top and sprinkle the parmesan cheese on. Toss it all lightly and serve with just a little more of both cheeses for garnish. Enjoy!

.Sweet Potato “Noodles” with Prosciutto, Brown Butter, Sage and Goat Cheese

Yield: 2 servings

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Thinly Sliced Prosciutto | 2 large slices *

Sweet Potato | 2 large

Olive Oil | drizzle

Kosher Salt | several shakes

Ground Pepper | several grinds

Butter | 2 tablespoons

Fresh Sage | 1 tablespoon chopped + several whole leaves

(Optional)Various Fresh Herbs | 1-2 tablespoon chopped + several whole leaves

Goat Cheese | 2 oz crumbled

Parmesan Cheese | 2 tablespoons *

*I usually like to add more because I love this so much

Directions

Peel the sweet potatoes and use your spiralizer to make sweet potato noodles – “swoodles”, or you can use a potato peeler and make thin ribbons. Set aside. Chop the prosciutto into small pieces and crisp in a sauté pan on medium-high. This should take just a few minutes. Set the prosciutto aside and cover to keep warm.

Drizzle just a touch of olive oil to the same pan, as there should be a bit of oil from the prosciutto in the pan. Toss in the swoodles , season with salt and pepper and sauté on medium heat until they are just softening up, about 5 minutes. Remove to plate with prosciutto and cover while you brown the butter.

In the same pan, drop in two tablespoons of butter (clarified butter or ghee won’t work here) and swirl the pan occasionally, as it melts and starts to bubble up. Let the butter bubble until it turns to a medium golden brown, keep swirling at this point, so it doesn’t burn. Sprinkle in the fresh herbs and let them sizzle for a minute, then add the prosciutto and swoodles back to the pan and toss together until combined. Turn off the heat and sprinkle the crumbled goat cheese and parmesan cheese over the top. Toss lightly and serve!

Special Diet Information

Lectin Free, Gluten Free