Sweet Potato Spaghetti Sauce

A creamy, cheesy, one-pot sweet potato sauce

Sweet Potato Spaghetti

Time: 45 mins | Difficulty: 3/5 | Yield: 1 bowl of spaghetti

I created this recipe based on a very similar method I had for creamy corn pasta—the creaminess of the sauce here comes only from blending the starchy vegetables, pasta water, and butter. It also uses sweet potatoes in two ways: in the sauce, and as smaller, sautéed cubes! You can leave out the cheese if you prefer—you may want to add a bit more salt if so, to balance out the flavor.

Ingredients/Tools:

• 1-2 sweet potatoes (a little more than a cup, when chopped)

• 1/2 a red onion

• 1 garlic clove

• 1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese

• Butter

• Spaghetti

• Scallions & parmesan, for the garnish

• Immersion blender or blender)

Method:

1. Set water to boil and cook the spaghetti.

2. Chop the sweet potato: peel off the skin, and chop about 90% of it into large, rough cubes. Finely dice the other 10%.

3. Dice the onion and garlic.

4. In a big pot, melt some butter and olive oil, then add the onions, garlic, and the large cubes of sweet potato. Add salt and pepper. Sauté until the onions are sweating, and the sweet potatoes are just starting to take on some color.

5. Add water to the pot, enough to cover the sweet potatoes about halfway (this will be about a cup). Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the sweet potato is completely tender (test with a fork).

6. Transfer the contents of the pot to a blender, and blend until smooth. Add a few spoonfuls of pasta water, to loosen the sauce.

7. Meanwhile, in the same big pot, melt some more butter and add in your smaller cubes of sweet potato. Add salt and pepper, and sauté until browned and slightly crisp.

8. Lower the heat, then add the blended sweet potato sauce back to the pot. Stir it all to combine, adding pasta water to loosen the whole thing as needed.

9. Add in the shredded cheese, and stir to combine. Adjust seasoning now as needed.

10. Add the cooked spaghetti to the pot.

11. Transfer to a bowl, and top with chopped scallions and lots of parmesan cheese.