Whole-Roasted Sweet Potato with Sunf l ower Gremolata and Lemony Sour Cream

After I had the best whole-roasted sweet potato of my life in Tel Aviv (thank you, Port Said!), I knew I had to write a recipe for this loaded-up bad boy. The secret is to roast the sweet potato at very high heat, so it releases all its delicious sugars that caramelize on the skin. Then to brighten things up, I add sour cream (because what goes better with a roasted potato?) and a sunf l ower seed and basil gremolata, which adds some much-needed crunch and takes things over the edge into max tastiness.

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

1 Roast the sweet potatoes: Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Step 2

2 Place the sweet potatoes in a baking dish. Rub each potato with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and ½ teaspoon of the kosher salt.

Step 3

Roast until the skin is crispy and beginning to caramelize, 45 minutes to 1 hour. You want the sugars to start seeping out and caramelizing.

Step 4

3 Make the sunf l ower gremolata: Toast the sunf l ower seeds in a dry pan over low heat until fragrant, about 5 minutes, then roughly chop them.

Step 5

4 In a medium bowl, toss together the sunf l ower seeds, basil, olive oil, lemon zest, kosher salt, and garlic. Adjust the seasoning with more kosher salt, if desired.

Step 6

5 Make the lemony sour cream: In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream, lemon juice, and kosher salt.

Step 7

6 To serve: Split each sweet potato down the middle and fi ll each half with 2 tablespoons of the lemony sour cream and 2 tablespoons of the gremolata. Finish with a sprinkle of the sea salt and garnish with the small basil leaves.

Step 8

NOTE Go with the smallest sweet potatoes you can fi nd—they’re sweeter and easier to cook evenly.