It’s party season! I always find myself needing to bring food/drinks to various parties during this time of year.
Some of my favorite party-friendly recipes include:
While I love these recipes, I also had a pile of sweet potatoes and fresh ginger from my CSA that were calling my name.
Warm appetizers can be difficult to keep warm at a party, but these little guys taste great piping hot out of the oven as well as room temperature! Bonus. They are also gluten-free and vegan, which is great for my group of friends who have very diverse diets.
I love appetizers, but they usually pack a day’s worth of calories and fat in one serving! Not so with these – but you’d never know it. They are sweet, spicy, tart, and full of comfort all while giving us Vitamin A, fiber, and potassium. Now that’s something to celebrate!
- 2 cups mashed, cooked sweet potatoes
- 1/3 cup pureed dates (200 g or about 15 pitted dates)
- 2 tablespoons grated ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt + more to taste
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- Pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- 36 cranberries
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a mini muffin pan with oil.
- Place the sweet potatoes, dates, ginger, salt, pepper and oil in a food processor. Mix on high for 2 minutes, or until fully combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
- Sprinkle a few chopped pecans in the bottom of each mini muffin cup. You want a single layer with some space between the pecans (approximately 1/2 teaspoon per cup).
- Scoop the sweet potato mixture into a large ziplock bag. Squeeze all of the mixture to one corner of the bag. Cut off the corner to create a small hole. (Alternatively, you can use a pastry bag with a nozzle.) Squeeze the bag so sweet potato mixture comes out the hole and fills a mini muffin cup about 3/4 of the way (about 1 tablespoon). Repeat until all the cups are filled with sweet potatoes. Top each sweet potato mound with a single raw cranberry. You will have some sweet potato mixture left over that is fabulous on its own or you can make a second mini muffin pan.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. The cranberries will burst and the bottoms will become slightly caramelized. Let cool for about 20 minutes before serving. These also heat up wonderfully!
- Cooking Sweet Potatoes: Scrub the outside of the sweet potato and prink a few times with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until soft. This takes about 40 minutes for medium-sized sweet potatoes. I had a few massive ones that took 2 hours. Let cool and remove the peeling. Mash with a fork or a food processor. Mashed sweet potatoes freeze really well, so bake a few extra to have on hand for later!
- Pureeing Dates: If the dates are hard on the outside, soak in boiling water for about 10 minutes to soften. Pit the dates, if not already done. Place in a food processor and puree until smooth. This is easiest in a smaller food processor. If you have a larger one like me, scrape down the sides often to get most of the chunks pureed.
- Grating Ginger: Use a microplane grater to grate the ginger. This will create a mashed consistency. If you don't have one, mince as fine as you can and use the side of your knife (or a mortar and pestle) to mash it even more.
Mmmm…these look fantastic!