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This was my first time making a tian recipe. I’ve seen them in cookbooks, on menus at restaurants and all over the internet so I’ve been curious about them for quite some time. This recipe is one you will come back to over and over again because of its simplicity and it also happens to yield a gorgeous presentation. It involves slicing the sweet potatoes very thin (I highly suggest using a mandoline for even slices- this is the mandoline I have used for years and I absolutely love it) then placing the sweet potatoes in a well oiled baking dish with some spices and herbs of your choice. The end result is absolutely delicious- tender roasted sweet potatoes packed with a whole lot of flavor. You’ll appreciate the naturally sweet flavor without any sugar added yet feel free to play around with the elements of this recipe by adding any spices and/or herbs you desire in place of what I’ve used here.
The baking dish you choose can elevate the visual impact of this meal as it makes a gorgeous presentation for dinner parties as well as simple weeknight dinners. I’m using this basic enameled cast iron casserole dish that I enjoy using in the oven.
One tip I do want to mention here is that I’m known for buying a bunch of sweet potatoes and letting them sit on my countertop for awhile until I realize I need to use them up- that’s definitely not the way to go because I’ve found that using sweet potatoes that have been sitting around for awhile become dry and flavorless. At the food store, be sure to purchase sweet potatoes that are firm with no cuts or bruises and do your best to use them up within a week of purchasing for optimum flavor.
In terms of what sweet potatoes to buy, I chose a variety of sweet potatoes such as Japanese (purple sweet potatoes) and boniato (white sweet potatoes) along with traditional orange sweet potatoes because I love the way these varieties taste. The purple sweet potatoes have a somewhat floral note to them while the white sweet potatoes always seem more crisp and mild in flavor compared to their orange cousins. No matter what variety you choose, your tian will look beautiful and unique to you. Experiment with what’s in your food store and enjoy the meditative process of slicing and stacking.
Lastly, this is the pastry brush I use for coating the sweet potatoes to ensure the oil is evenly distributed.
Sweet Potato Tian
Ingredients
- 6 large sweet potatoes
- olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 2 tsp. sesame seeds toasted
- 1/2 tsp. carraway seeds toasted
- fresh oregano for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a large baking dish with olive oil and set aside.
- Using a mandoline, thinly slice the sweet potatoes and stack them vertically in a bowl or measuring cup until you're ready to transfer them to the prepared baking dish. When the slicing is complete, transfer the stacks of sweet potatoes into the baking dish starting with the outside and working your way inside. If you're using a variety of colors of sweet potatoes, you may want to alternate them as I have in the photos above.
- In a small bowl, combine the oil with the cayenne pepper, ginger and cumin. Use a brush to brush the sweet potatoes so the oil seeps down into the cracks in between each potato. Transfer to the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are very tender. Check on the sweet potatoes half way through to ensure they are not drying out. Brush more oil onto the sweet potatoes, as needed.
- Meanwhile toast the sesame seeds in a large dry skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes or until golden brown and fragrant. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Remove the tian from the oven; set aside for 5 minutes to cool before serving. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and caraway seeds. Add a pinch of sea salt and pepper, to taste and garnish with fresh oregano. Serve warm.
- Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition
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]]>The post Garlic + Ginger Celebration Squash with Sesame Seeds appeared first on Amie Valpone.
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this recipe is quite a study in contrasts – the crunchy sesame seeds, the punchy ginger and garlic, and the sweet and tender roasted squash. it’s a fantastic side dish to serve for the holidays or anytime the weather is chilly outdoors and you’re in the mood to heat up your home with your oven.
there are few dishes that don’t benefit from adding fresh garlic and ginger, which give this recipe a distinctive flavor, and they also happen to be two of my favorite ingredients – especially in the winter because they create heat and always seem to warm up my body. while it may seem like there’s a lot going on in this recipe between the black and white sesame seeds and mincing the garlic and ginger, it’s quite a basic recipe that pairs nicely with and compliments a wide range of dishes. you’ll appreciate the sweetness and subtle heat in each bite and i guarantee you’ll learn to love how beautifully these flavors work together.
lastly, if you’re unable to find celebration squash, don’t fret. you can easily use acorn squash instead.
what i’m using in this recipe
mortar and pestle that i love using for making garlic paste
and the brush that i love using to coat the veggies so they’re nice and glossy
cast iron rimmed baking sheet (i threw away all my aluminum baking sheets due to high levels of aluminum in my body). if you’re interested in learning more about this, my first book, Eating Clean, is a great resource to find and detox the hidden toxicity in our lives.
Garlic + Ginger Celebration Squash with Sesame Seeds
Ingredients
- 2 medium celebration (or acorn) squash quartered and seeded
- 2 large garlic cloves peeled and minced
- sea salt to taste
- 1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
- freshly ground pepper to taste
- extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup white sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup black sesame seeds
- handful arugula or microgreens optional for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the garlic and sea salt in a mortar and pestle until it resembles garlic paste. Transfer to a small bowl and add the ginger, freshly ground pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Use a brush to coat the flesh sides of the squash until they are glossy and well coated. Add more oil as needed.
- Place the sesame seeds on a plate and stir to combine so the black and white sesame seeds are evenly distributed. Using your hands, press the cut-edge of the squash, which you just brushed with the oil mixture, into the seed mixture and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining squash then transfer to the oven.
- Roast for 30-35 minutes or until the squash is very tender and golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes before serving with arugula or microgreens, if desired. Finish with a pinch of sea salt and a few twists of freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
Nutrition
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I’ve had this deep desire to start making cozy recipes for the holidays the last few weeks and this was the first one that came to mind. I’ve seen gratin recipes over and over again in cookbooks and on restaurant menus however they always seem to include some sort of cheese and breadcrumbs, which makes them out of my league, if you know what I mean.
The better I feel, the more I want to shift out of my comfort zone of cooking and start exploring recipes that would have otherwise intimidated me – and which I did not even have the slightest bit of energy to make or explore. That said, this gratin was a huge step for me and it makes me so happy to see that my creative spark is reemerging in the kitchen.
This recipe is perfect for a holiday dinner party or as one of the side dishes on your holiday table. It’s easy to make and requires a mandoline, which I highly suggest – otherwise you’ll end up slicing the sweet potatoes and onions with a sharp knife and the slices will be too thick (and they will not bake consistently) to make this gratin just perfect.
All you need to do is slice the sweet potatoes and the red onion with the mandoline and layer them on top of each other in a baking dish then drizzle olive oil on top with some sea salt, pepper and cinnamon for a touch of sweetness. It really doesn’t get any easier than this for such a beautiful and delicious meal. It’s cozy, light and easy to digest and it’s comforting without the cheese and breadcrumbs. It’s also fantastic when served with the dairy-free cheese recipes in my cookbook, Eating Clean, for a dose of protein on top.
Sweet Potato + Red Onion gratin
Ingredients
- 4 medium sweet potatoes
- 3 large red onions
- drizzle extra-virgin olive oil plus more for coating baking dish
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- sea salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a baking dish with olive oil using your hands to ensure the base and the sides are coated.
- With a sharp knife, remove and discard the top of each onion as well as one end of each sweet potato before you start using the mandoline to ensure you are slicing with a flat vegetable surface. Using a mandoline (link above to the brand I recommend), slice the sweet potatoes and red onion into thin slices.
- Layer the sweet potato and red onion slices in the prepared baking dish (10.5" x 7.5") ensuring that the sweet potato layer is the top and final layer. Drizzle the top of the grain with olive oil, sprinkle with cinnamon, sea salt and pepper. Bake for 35 minutes covered with parchment paper then bake uncovered for another 10 minutes or until golden brown and the sweet potatoes and onions are very tender.
- Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Serve warm.
- Store leftovers in a sealed glass container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator or up to 1 month in the freezer.
Nutrition
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I made this delicious green tahini sauce recently and fell in love with it, which means I’ll be using it again in another recipe very soon because it is absolutely delicious. The best part of making an incredible sauce or dressing for any salad or vegetable dish is that you don’t need to fuss over creating an extravagant meal when your sauce is the star.
For this recipe I’m combining shaved yellow carrots (I know you love your carrots thinly shaved because you loved this carrot salad recently), crunchy celery, cucumbers and rosemary with a few sprinkles of hemp seeds for a touch of protein and Omega 3 fatty acids to help support your wellbeing. All you need to do is toss these few veggies together in a large serving bowl or on a large serving dish and add the green tahini sauce on the side or gently tossed amongst the veggies.
However you prefer to serve this sauce, you’ll want to make it again and again. It’s equally as delicious served with roasted squash or any other vegetable of choice.
SHOP the RECIPE
Celery and Yellow Carrot Salad with Green Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
Green Tahini Sauce
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup filtered water
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
- 1 large garlic clove
- 2 Tbsp. fresh tarragon
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
Salad
- 1 head celery thinly sliced
- 3 large yellow carrots peeled into strips
- 2 large cucumbers sliced
- 2 tsp. hemp seeds
- 1 tsp. fresh rosemary
Instructions
- Combine all the Tahini Sauce ingredients in a small food processor and blend until creamy. Set aside.
- Combine all the salad ingredients on a large serving plate. Add a dollop of the Tahini Sauce on top or use salad tongs to gently toss the sauce with the salad and serve at room temperature.
- Store leftovers in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
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There is something so creamy about roasted zucchini, especially when you puree it in a blender to make a rich soup that is so soothing and cozy to eat. As many of you know, I fell in love with pureed soups in my early 20’s (many many moons ago) when I had to eat out of a food processor and blender for a year because of digestive issues. While it wasn’t the most exciting year of my life, it inspired recipes for my first cookbook, Eating Clean, and it offered me a deep appreciation for the silky smooth consistency of pureed soups.
There is something so inviting and warm about sitting down for a bowl of soup- especially when it’s pureed because it just simply goes down so smooth. Zucchini is the star ingredient to use when you’re looking to add creaminess to any recipe because it gets so incredibly tender and sweet after it’s cooked.
Here, I’m roasting the zucchini to perfection and tossing it into a high-speed blender (I prefer the Vitamix below because it has been the most consistent blender I use and it always creates the perfect blended consistency hands down) and I’m tossing in some natural sweetness from ground ginger and coriander for an extra pop of flavor.
This soup can be served anytime of the year and my one suggestion is to purchase large tender zucchini because, in my experience, the larger zucchini tend to have so much more flavor than the smaller ones, which tend to taste bitter.
SHOP the RECIPE
Roasted Zucchini Soup
Ingredients
- 2 large zucchini diced (4 cups diced)
- drizzle extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt plus more to taste
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper to taste
- pinch crushed red pepper flakes for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Prepare two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Lay the zucchini on the prepared baking sheets in a single layer. Be sure not to overcrowd the pan as that will make them steam and not roast. Drizzle with olive oil and add a pinch of sea salt and pepper.
- Roast for 25 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the roasted zucchini to a high-speed blender with the remaining ingredients and puree until smooth. Serve warm or at room temperature and garnish with crushed red pepper flakes.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
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