Summer Sweet Potatoes With Tomatoes (Printable Version)

Roasted sweet potatoes topped with tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh pesto for a colorful summer dish.

# What You'll Need:

→ Vegetables

01 - 4 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed and halved lengthwise
02 - 1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved
03 - Fresh basil leaves, for garnish

→ Dairy

04 - 7 oz mozzarella balls (bocconcini or ciliegine), drained and halved

→ Pesto

05 - 1 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
06 - ¼ cup toasted pine nuts (or walnuts)
07 - 1 garlic clove
08 - ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
09 - ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
10 - Salt and pepper, to taste

→ Olive Oil & Seasoning

11 - 2 tbsp olive oil (for roasting)
12 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

# How To Make It:

01 - Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
02 - Brush sweet potato halves with 2 tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place cut-side down on the tray. Roast for 30 minutes, until tender and lightly caramelized.
03 - While the sweet potatoes roast, prepare the pesto: In a food processor, blend basil, toasted pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until smooth. Adjust seasoning as needed.
04 - Remove sweet potatoes from the oven and let cool slightly. Flip them cut-side up.
05 - Top each sweet potato half with cherry tomatoes and mozzarella. Return to the oven for 5 minutes, just until the cheese softens.
06 - Remove from oven, drizzle generously with fresh pesto, and garnish with basil leaves. Serve warm or at room temperature.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The contrast between warm roasted sweet potatoes and cool fresh pesto hits every perfect temperature note
  • It looks impressive on a platter but comes together in under an hour with almost zero active work
02 -
  • Let the sweet potatoes cool for about 5 minutes after the first roast, otherwise they are too hot to handle for flipping
  • The pesto can be made a day ahead and stored in the fridge with a thin layer of olive oil on top
03 -
  • Scrub the sweet potatoes well instead of peeling them, the skin gets deliciously caramelized in the oven
  • Pat the mozzarella dry with paper towels before adding to prevent excess water from making everything soggy

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