I love sweet potatoes. I love that they have an ugly exterior, yet reveal their brilliant orange when cut in half. I love that they are suggestively sweet, and can just as easily be used in a savory dish as in a sweet one. And I just love it when I get sweet potatoes in my Farm Fresh Miami bag, it's like getting a surprise chocolate bar in the lunches my mom would pack me for school.
It's hard to fight the urge I get when I come across a sweet potato. I just want to cut them into wedges, season, and bake them into delightful sweet potato wedges.
But after having done so with pounds upon pounds of sweet potatoes, I felt as though it was time for a change. And change I did, to what is pretty close to the ultimate comfort food dish. Think nutty and sweet, cheesy and crunchy, creamy and full of pasta. Yum.
Not only does this dish capture all those qualities, but it takes very little effort to put it all together. It is absolutely great for a Monday night meal, it comforts the depleted Monday moral of beginning the work week again, and doesn't drain your energy with a difficult preparation.
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Walnut & Sweet Potato Pasta
2 small-medium sweet potatoes
3/4 cups of ricotta (i recommend the full fat version to really make a comfort dish)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup ground walnuts
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup Parmesan
1/2 box of penne
Boil the sweet potatoes until completely soft, about 35-50 minutes depending on their size.
Once cooked, peel and mash. in a big bowl.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Bring a big pot of water, salted, to a boil. Add the penne, and cook according to the package directions.
Once the mashed sweet potatoes have cooled, add the ricotta, walnuts, salt, and heavy cream. Mix together until evenly distributed. Stir in that pasta and pour into a oven safe dish.
Top with the ground walnuts, bread crumbs, and Parmesan.
Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the crumbs have a nice golden color.
Allow to cool, and serve. Enjoy!
