Sweet potatoes are a versatile fall and winter ingredient that taste wonderful in sweet and savory dishes. Keep some of these root vegetables on hand in your pantry to use in a variety of weeknight dinners. Use them in a main dish or as a wonderful side for those winter get-togethers and potlucks coming over the next few months.
Fun fact: Sweet potatoes, yams and potatoes might seem related, but each belongs to a different family. Sweet potatoes are in the morning glory family and, unlike potatoes and other nightshades, you can eat the leaves of the sweet potato (plants in the nightshade family have poisonous leaves).
Selecting: Look for firm tubers with fairly even skin and no soft spots. Small to medium sweet potatoes usually have creamier flesh when roasted as opposed to larger sweet potatoes, which can be starchier.
Storing: Store at room temperature (not in the refrigerator) in a dry, dark location. Sweet potatoes stored this way can keep for a couple of months.
Pairing: Allspice, anise, apple, bacon, basil, beans, bourbon, brandy, brown sugar, butter, caramel, chestnuts, chives, chorizo, cilantro, cinnamon, cloves, coconut, coriander, cranberries, cream, cumin, curry, dates, dill, feta, figs, garlic, ginger, greens, Gruyère, ham, honey, kale, leeks, lemon, limes, maple syrup, mint, molasses, mushrooms, nutmeg, olive oil, onions, orange, paprika, Parmesan, pears, pecans, pineapple, pine nuts, potatoes, pumpkin seeds, raisins, rosemary, rum, sage, tarragon, thyme, vanilla, vinegar, walnuts, whiskey and yogurt.
