Ingredients

The following ingredients have 5 Servings
  • 3 sweet potatoes (about 1 lb each)
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 2 cloves garlic (very finely minced)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon EACH: dried thyme and rosemary
  • ¼ teaspoon EACH: sea salt, black pepper, and cayenne
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon EACH: sea salt, black pepper, and cayenne
  • 1 cup pecans (coarsely chopped)

Instruction

  • Preheat your oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the sweet potatoes into 1 ½ inch rounds. You'll get about 4 per sweet potato. Place them in a large pot and cover them with water. Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce the heat and simmer until soft but not mushy, about 15 minutes. When they've finished cooking, remove them from the pot and place them on the baking sheet.
  • While the sweet potatoes are cooking, make the smoky pecans. Melt the 1 tablespoon of ghee or butter in a small pan and add the smoked paprika, sea salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Add the pecans and toss to coat. Transfer the pecans to a small baking dish and toast in the oven for 5-6 minutes, or until fragrant and starting to brown.
  • While the pecans are toasting, make the herb and garlic butter. Melt butter in the same pan you used for the pecans. Add the garlic, salt, thyme, rosemary, black pepper, and cayenne and let the garlic cook for 1 minute.
  • Carefully smash the sweet potatoes using a fork. It works best to stab the centers a few times and then use the fork to push the sweet potatoes down around the edges of the circles. Drizzle the herb and garlic butter over the sweet potatoes and roast in the oven for 20 minutes. OPTIONAL: turn the oven to broil for the last 5 minutes to get the tops extra crispy.
  • Serve the smashed sweet potatoes with the smoky pecans over top.