Balsamic Glazed Sweet Potatoes and Pears

March 19, 2015  •  Fruit, Side Dishes, Vegetables

glazed-sweet-potatoes-and-pearsYou gotta love the internet when it comes to cooking inspiration. Just google a few words and you’ll find photos, recipes, wine pairings, and more in about 3 seconds. I recently prepped food and styled it for a Good Morning America segment about the father of the Paleo Diet, and found myself left with some pears that I wanted to use in a savory dish instead of eating as a snack. Just one google search later, I had my idea!glazed-sweet-potatoes-and-pears-1This is a simple recipe to prepare that seems fancy, seems like you went to some trouble. I served it alongside a roast chicken and a green salad, but it would also pair beautifully with a pork tenderloin or with some pan seared pork chops. The technique I’ve used is called glazing: you cook the vegetable in a bit of water that eventually evaporates as the food cooks, and the sugars in the food create a pan sauce to glaze the cooked food. If the water evaporates faster than the food cooks, add a little more water; if the potatoes are getting soft but you have lots of water left, uncover and turn the heat to high for a minute to evaporate off most of the remaining water. Healthy comfort food…now doesn’t that sound good?

Balsamic Glazed Sweet Potatoes and Pears
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Side Dish
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
  • 2 ripe pears, peeled and cubed
  • 1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • Salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Add the oil, water, and potato to a skillet, cover, bring to a boil, and then reduce and simmer until the potato is nearly soft, about 10 minutes. You might need to uncover the lid and turn up the heat to get most of the water to evaporate before proceeding to finish the dish.
  2. Add the pear over medium high heat and cook just until heated through. Add the balsamic and mustard and toss with the pan juices to form a glaze. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

Add a Comment

Rate this recipe: