Sweet Potato Alfredo with Farfalline

Sweet Potato Alfredo sauce on Farfalline ribbon pasta - lotsa vitamin power here!

Sweet potatoes are such a wonderful food! I love them baked in their skins, mashed, diced and roasted, or pureed into soups. Now I can add sauces to that list. I was laying in bed this morning on my day off, nursing a sore throat and browsing my Pinterest recipes because we are getting our SLO Veg delivery today and I need to be prepared. : ) http://www.care2.com/greenliving/9-reasons-to-love-sweet-potatoes.html

I still have some things to cook from the last delivery, because I am just not having a lot of time to cook with my new work schedule. If it doesn't get cooked Monday through Wednesday, its probably just not gonna get cooked, or prepped, or anything. So I have six or so assorted-sized sweet potatoes in my pantry, about five pounds of russet potatoes, a head of cauliflower and some curly-leafed kale. I finally used the last of my Dino kale in a soup last week, but I still have some soup leftover in the frig because I made a big pot-full. I have taken some to work to eat every day, too!

Anyhoooo, I saw a recipe for sweet potato alfredo and got all excited! I told my husband I just had to make it right now, for breakfast, and that I would put an egg on top if that made him happy. He agreed (What else could he do? Cook? hahahahahahahaha). So I made it; it was fabulous; and here it is:

Because we ate this at 9 a.m., I topped it with a fried egg. Breakfast of Champions!

Pretty, huh? Ribbon Farfalline

One cool think is I used my Torino brand ribbon farfalline pasta that I had picked up before the holidays, thinking I would use it for a special Christmas pasta dish. Instead I made lasagna and didn't use these here pasta noodles, which are naturally colored with spinach, beetroot, paprika and curcuma. (I had to look that up, too.) Curcuma: Its a type of plant that turmeric powder comes from. http://www.livestrong.com/article/135427-the-benefits-curcuma/

That's great, because sweet potatoes are good for you, turmeric and beets are good for you, and when its all mixed together in this pasta dish, its a win-win! This sauce is going to be a go-to thing in the future, I am thinking! 

Here is how I made it:

Sweet Potato Alfredo

2-3 small or 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1 lb. pasta (I used Torino Farfalline today)

water and salt for pasta

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

1 cup milk 

1-1/2 cups water

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1/4 cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

1) Bring a pasta pot of water to a boil. Cook 1 lb. pasta of your choice until al dente.

2) Peel and dice enough sweet potatoes to make 1-1/2 cups. Boil in water until soft and mashable. Drain water and mash potatoes. (You should have about 1 cup, mashed).

3) Melt and brown a cube of butter (1/2 cup) until browned in a large saute pan. Whisk in 1/2 cup of flour until it is smooth. Add one cup of milk and stir while it thickens, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mashed sweet potatoes, Parmesan cheese, 1 to 1-1/2 cups water, salt and pepper, and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper.

4) Gently stir in the farfalline pasta, being careful not to break them up too much. Serve in pasta bowls with a little more Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top, or an fried egg, like we had this morning!

Bon apetit!