As with many things, this recipe was a complete accident. The cherry sauce was originally made for duck breast, for a nice romantic Valentine's Night dinner. But I made extra, and the day afterwards was no more duck, but lots of chorizo. So I combined the two and it was amazing. And then the sauce leaked into my side of sweet potatoes, and it was even more amazing.
So then I tinkered around with the recipe, added some cheese because cheese makes everything better, and created the best thing I've had all week. I feel fairly confident in saying it will be the best in yours as well.
CHERRY & CHORIZO STUFFED SWEET POTATOES
Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
4 sweet potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
4 links of chorizo sausage
1/2 cup of shredded cheese, such as Oaxaca or mozzarella
1 tbsp minced shallot
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup cherry jam, such as Bonne Maman
10-12 pit-free cherries, fresh or frozen
3 sprigs of rosemary
2 sprigs of thyme, de-stemmed
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
Sugar, to taste
Directions:
1.) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large dark sheet pan with parchment paper.
2.) Scrub the sweet potatoes so that all dirt is removed from the skin. Prick the outside all around with a fork to leave multiple holes in the flesh.
3.) Rub the sweet potatoes in the olive oil, and then place face down onto the baking sheet. Bake for around 35 minutes.
4.) Relax for 10 minutes, then cut up the shallot into small pieces. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the shallots, and sauté until soft, around 2 to 3 minutes.
5.) Add the cherries, jam, chicken broth, garlic, and herbs. Bring to a boil, and then simmer so that it reaches a thick sauce consistency. As different varieties of jams have different levels of sweetness, add sugar to taste.
6.) With 5 minutes until the sweet potatoes are finished, add the chorizo to a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Break into small pieces, and cook until brown. This will be approximate 5 minutes.
7.) Take out the sweet potatoes, and scoop out some of the middle to create a crater. Line with cheese.
8.) Put the sweet potatoes back into the oven, face up. This time, use the broil setting. Take out after one minute, after cheese is melted and bubbling.
9.) Add the chorizo to the sweet potato boat. Top with cheese, and then pour some cherry sauce on top.
10.) Dig into an absolutely heavenly side or even meal.
