Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Fresh Figs

Hello Friends,

If you noticed, figs are in season and I cannot stop myself from buying fresh figs almost on a daily basis. Soon I will be all figged out! J

I came across a recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi and could not resist of trying it – the combination of roasted sweet potatoes with fresh figs just sounded a-mazing. While I changed the recipe just slightly, all the praise goes to them.

If you love fresh figs as much as I do, this will give you a new appreciation for them…

Ingredients in this recipe will make 1 entrée or appetizer for two.

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato

2 tbsp of sunflower oil

3 tbsp of balsamic vinegar

1.5 tbsp of sugar

½ bunch of green onions, cut into 1-1.5 inch segments

4-5 fresh ripe figs, quartered

1 Fresno red chili, cleaned and minced (if you are not used to chilies, use half of the pepper)

1 tbsp of olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove the skin from the sweet potato, halve the potato and then cut each half once more. If the pieces are still too chunky, I suggest cutting those once more, so they will cook faster. Mix the potato slices with 2 tbsp of the sunflower oil, season with salt and pepper and let them cook for 25 minutes, checking on them occasionally.

In the meantime, prep the onion and the chili pepper (make sure you remove the seeds – which are the spiciest part of the pepper). If you are not very experienced with chili peppers, wear gloves to avoid touching your eyes or other parts of your body later – that might hurt J Given the previous experience, I also remove my contacts before cooking just in cases. LOL

When the potatoes are almost done, start working on your balsamic reduction. To make the balsamic reduction – add the balsamic vinegar and sugar to a small pot and bring to a boil. Then decrease the heat and simmer for 2-4 minutes until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat when the vinegar is still runnier than honey.

Fry the green onions and chili in 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure not to burn the chili.

Arrange the sweet potato on the plate, spoon the green onion and chili pepper on top, add the figs and then drizzle with the balsamic reduction. (if you prepped the reduction a bit too early and it got too thick – that’s ok. Just put it back on the stove, add 1 tsp of water and slightly reheat it).

The dish is ready to be served.

The slight heat from the chili, warmth from sweet potatoes and the sweetness from the figs make this dish a winner in my book. I hope you enjoy!

Cheers,

Sasha