Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes

Show-stopping twice-baked sweet potatoes with creamy taleggio cheese

Baked sweet potatoes have been on permanent rotation as a weekly side dish at our house. I love the way they taste and they have more fiber and vitamins than regular potatoes. While delicious on their own, this twice-baked sweet potato recipe is on a whole other level. The recipe comes from the latest Barefoot Contessa cookbook (I'm a huge fangirl and love every single one of her cookbooks) and calls for mashing the cooked sweet potatoes with buttery sautéed shallots, creamy taleggio cheese, and thyme before baking them a second time until puffed and golden. The potatoes are the perfect mix of salty and sweet with creamy pockets of melty cheese running throughout. These make a great side dish to a simple roasted chicken, grilled meat, or even a sturdy fish like salmon. Or pair this with a green salad for a satisfying vegetarian meal.


Related Recipes:
- Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- Chicken & Broccoli Stuffed Potatoes
- Molasses-Chile Butter Sweet Potatoes


Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Taleggio Cheese:
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed and poked with a fork a few times
- 3 oz. taleggio cheese, rind removed and diced
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 3 tbsp. butter
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, plus a few sprigs for garnish
- kosher salt
- black pepper

Recipe

• Preheat the oven to 400F.
• Line a baking sheet with foil and add the sweet potatoes. Bake for an hour, or until tender and cooked through.
• Remove and let cool slightly. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh into a bowl, leaving a 1/2" border around the edge of each potato half. Season the potato shells with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, heat the butter in a small pan and add in the shallots. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until softened. Add the thyme and cook for another minute.
• Add the shallot mixture and a big pinch of salt and pepper to the bowl with the sweet potatoes and mash with a fork. Stir in the egg and cheese until incorporated.
• Scoop the sweet potato mixture back into the potato skins and lay a sprig of thyme on top of each half as a garnish (optional).
• Bake for another 20-30 minutes, or until puffed and lightly browned.
• Cool slightly and serve.

Serves four