Welcome Autumn, and the beautiful abundance of squash, sweet potato, spinach, and so much more. Most weeknights, when we’re not entertaining and it’s just the two of us, I need to keep that in mind when shopping at the Saturday farmers market and resist the temptation to overbuy all the beautiful produce each season brings.   One sweet potato goes a long way. This recipe I created as a side dish for grilled salmon, and it was beautiful. The colors blended beautifully with the salmon, giving it a distinctly autumnal vibe, and the sweetness complemented the meal perfectly. This dish is also a wonderful room-temperature appetizer!

SWEET POTATO CHIPS WITH SPINACH PESTO

Ingredients:
1 medium sweet potato – cleaned and sliced into 1/4” slices, toss in a little olive oil
4 cups of spinach – washed and patted dry
3 cloves of garlic – peeled and left whole
1/3 cup walnuts
1/3 cup parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste
Red chili peppers – optional
Warm Oven: 450F

Place the olive oil coated sweet potato slices on a cast iron pan and roast on high heat.
Don’t overcrowd the pan as the potatoes need space to roast.
Watch and toss each slice as they start to brown and get crispy. This should take approximately 20 minutes.
Remove and place on a plate.
Meanwhile, blanch the spinach for no more than 1 minute in boiling water.
Drain well and place in blender with garlic, walnuts, Parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.
Blend and adjust taste to your liking.
Place each sweet potato on a plate and dress with the spinach pesto.
Great served warm or room temperature.

Bon Appétit