If you have a simple holiday roast in the picture--pork, chicken, or beef--think about a side dish that has some character to it. Sweet Potato Noodles With Pears will make any plain roast seem special. Even sauteed chicken breasts will seem fancy with this sweet potato dish to gussy them up. The sweet potatoes are spiralized--turned into long noodles--and then mixed with a little oil, lemon juice, and spices. Sweet, juicy pears get popped into the mix, and some crunchy pecans add nutty goodness. Just to keep things a little savory, some chopped onions and garlic powder accompany the sweet potatoes and onions in the oven. Once you pull the sweet potato noodles from the oven, feel free to add some dried cranberries and a scattering of fresh chopped green onions for a beautiful as well as delicious side dish. No spiralizer? Don't want to pay exorbitant prices for sweet potato noodles (I don't blame you!)? Just use the shredding disk on your food processor and give the potatoes less time in the oven. No, the dish won't be quite the same, but it will be good!
Sweet Potato Noodles With Pears -- Serves 4+
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, trimmed, and spiralized into noodles (cut noodles to
8-10 inches in length)
1/2 cup of chopped onion (chop it fine)
2-4 pears, cored, seeded, and chopped (no need to peel, and use 2 large or 4 small
pears)
2 - 3 tablespoons of olive oil
3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice, plus the grated zest of 1 lemon (reserve the zest)
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1 tablespoon of honey
3/4 - 1 cup of chopped/whole pecans
1/2 cup of dried cranberries (optional but good)
2 - 3 tablespoons of chopped green onions (optional but good)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spritz a large baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or line the sheet with aluminum foil and spritz the foil with spray for easier cleanup. Combine the sweet potato noodles, onion, pears, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and honey on the prepared baking sheet and toss them together (it's easiest if you just use your hands and then wash your hands) until everything is well coated with the spice/oil/lemon juice. Bake the sweet potato noodles for about 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven and stir/turn them. Sprinkle on the pecans and return the potatoes to the oven for about 10 minutes more. The noodles and pears should be soft and the pecans should be toasted (not burned, so watch them during the last five minutes!). After pulling the noodles from the oven, add the reserved lemon zest, dried cranberries, and green onions. Enjoy!
