Smitten

Every so often, I print a recipe that I've fallen deeply in love with. You'll remember my Black Bean and Smoked Cheese Quesadillas, or my Rice Noodle Salad, or even my Stuffed Peppers. Every one of these is a dish that I secretly hope nobody else is around to eat, because it means more meals of leftovers for me.

I've found another recipe to add to that pantheon, and that's these Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Balsamic Reduction. It was a simple recipe I took from the newspaper, so simple they didn't even include amounts. I was dazzled at how incredibly these few simple flavours worked together. Andrew, who cheerfully samples every new recipe I try, enjoyed it, but perhaps wasn't smitten to the same level as me. Which might actually be a good thing, because it means more meals of leftovers for me.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Balsamic Reduction

(from Sue Riedl of The Globe and Mail)

2 heads of garlic

2 sweet potatoes, sliced into wedges (6 to 8, depending on the size of your sweet potatoes)

olive oil

salt and pepper

3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp sugar

2 1/2 ounces (70 grams) goat cheese (I used herbed goat cheese, but regular would be nice too)

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Roast garlic for 40 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare sweet potatoes. Toss the wedges in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and roast for 20 minutes. (Put them in the oven for the last 20 minutes that the garlic is in.)

Allow garlic and sweet potatoes to cool slightly.

For the sauce, bring balsamic vinegar and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, and simmer for a couple of minutes to thicken. Cool slightly.

Drizzle balsamic reduction over warm sweet potatoes and top with goat cheese. Serve with mashed and seasoned roasted garlic.