Enjoying appetizers are kind of a joke for anyone not eating cheese or bread. Typically I make a crudité platter with some hummus when I need something quick. But if I take some time, I can do something delicious like deviled eggs or meatballs which is great, unless vegetarians are present too. So here’s a little something vegan that also takes a little effort but has a tremendous pay off.
This idea came to me after seeing fried sage show up on my instagram feed. I had tried making it last year but I knew I fried those tender little leaves too long so the flavor was more like burnt sage. I had to take another stab. I’ve been wanting to do something with sweet potato rounds too so obviously the two became a perfect pair. If you didn’t have to be dairy-free, you could certainly use Neufchâtel or even mascarpone as a substitute for the cashew cream.
- 1-2 sweet potatoes or enough to make roughly 24, ¼" slices
- ½ cup cashews
- 1 cup water, ¼ reserved
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 24-30 sage leaves
- ¼ cup oil for frying (I used avocado) and more for brushing rounds
- sea salt
- cracked peppercorn
- To make the cashew cream from scratch, mix the cashews with ¾ cup room temperature or cool water and let soak for at least 2 hours or overnight
- After the cashews are softened, drain the water and rinse in a colander
- Add the cashews and ¼ cup water to a high speed blender or food processor and pulse until they start to cream
- Scrap sides as needed, this can take 3-5 minutes to get just right
- Preheat oven to 350° F
- Place slices of sweet potatoes on a oiled sheet pan
- Brush each round withe oil and bake for 15 minutes
- While they bake, heat oil at medium-high heat in a saucepan
- Fry about 4-5 sage leaves at a time for only 3 seconds
- Fish them out with a fork and cool them on a paper towel, top them with a few cracks of sea salt
- Assemble the rounds with a dollop of cashew cream and top with the sage
- Garnish with some fresh cracked peppercorn
