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Baked Sweet Potatoes with Miso Butter

Fluffy and tender baked sweet potatoes can be the perfect side for a meal, or a wonderful lunch or dinner all unto themselves, just add some fun toppings. Here umami rich Miso Butter and Chili Crisp are the perfect finish to the sweet nature of the potatoes.
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine North American
Keyword chili crisp, miso butter, sweet potato
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings 4

Ingredients

Sweet Potatoes

  • 4 sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean, ensure they are all of similar size (if smaller, then one per person is good)
  • olive oil
  • 1 tbsp chopped cilantro or parsley, optional
  • 2 tsp white sesame seeds, optional

Miso Butter

  • 4 tbsp butter, softened
  • 2 tbsp white miso
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Chili Crisp

  • 4 small shallots, thinly sliced
  • 1 head of garlic, separated into cloves, sliced thinly
  • 1/4 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts, chopped
  • 1 two inch piece ginger, peeled, finely chopped
  • 1 ½ cups vegetable oil, like grapeseed or canola
  • 2 three inch cinnamon sticks
  • 6 star anise pods
  • ¼ cup crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 tbsp. tamari or soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
  • 2 tsp. sugar or honey

Instructions

Sweet Potatoes

  1. Preheat the oven on to 425 degrees F, and have a rack set at the centre position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Scrub each sweet potato. Use a fork to poke a few holes all over.
  3. Slice each sweet potato in half lengthwise, Rub a small amount of olive oil over all the sides of the potatoes and place them cut-side down on the baking sheet.
  4. Bake for 25-40 minutes until tender when you slide a knife into the thickest part of the potato, and are caramelized around the edges. Cooking time will vary based on size of sweet potatoes you are using.
  5. Top each half with a pat of miso butter and a drizzle of the chili crisp. Finish with a sprinkling of chopped cilantro or parsley and sesame seeds.
  6. Leftovers can be frozen or stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Miso Butter

  1. Combine the softened butter, miso and pepper in a bowl with a fork till well blended. Use immediately, or store in a sealed container for the week.

Chili Crisp

  1. Bring shallots, garlic, peanuts, ginger, oil, cinnamon, and star anise to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

  2. Reduce the heat to low, but high enough to maintain a gentle simmer. Swirl or stir the pot occasionally, until garlic and shallots are golden brown and crisp, 20–25 minutes. (Take your time—you want to drive all the moisture out before they brown.) Keep your eye on everything. You want everything to cook, but not scorch, so keep everything moving, not settling on the bottom. Right towards the end you will find that everything will start crisping up, so don't leave the pot.

  3. In the meantime, mix red pepper flakes, tamari, sesame seeds, and sugar in a medium bowl.

    Strain shallot mixture through a fine-mesh sieve set over red pepper flake mixture. If the bottom of the sieve touches the oil, lift it off and place it over a different bowl.

  4. Let garlic and shallot cool in sieve (this will allow them to crisp further) before stirring back into chile oil. Spreading everything in the sieve out so that the air can reach it all as it cools and dries will have the best results.

  5. Transfer the completely cooled garlic, shallots, peanuts etc from the sieve to the bowl with the oil mixture. You can remove the star anise and cinnamon sticks, but I leave them in to continue to impart their flavour and aroma. Stir well. Place everything into a glass jar with a lid.

  6. Do Ahead: Crisp can be made and stored in the back of the fridge for a few months easy.

  7. See blog post for more details