Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Lardons and Pickled Peppers Recipe

Roasted sweet potatoes, Photo by Matt Lien // Growler Magazine

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Lardons, Pickled Peppers, Togarashi, and Creme Fraiche
By Ann Kim, Pizzeria Lola

8 purple sweet potatoes with white flesh
1 pound slab bacon (or sub thick-cut bacon)
Chives, chopped
Flaky sea salt (preferably Maldon)
Togarashi
1 cup creme fraiche
Pickled fresno chiles

Bake yams at 375°F until tender, about 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the sweet potatoes and your oven. Slice slab bacon lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cut slices crosswise into lardons roughly an inch long. In a heavy skillet, cook bacon over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Transfer lardons to a paper towel-lined plate and keep warm.

While the sweet potatoes are still warm, slit them lengthwise down center and press ends together to force them open. Sprinkle each with Maldon salt and togarashi. Add lardons evenly among potatoes, and spoon a dollop of creme fraiche on each. Sprinkle with chopped chives and pickled fresno chiles.

Ann Kim, Photo by Matt Lien // Growler Magazine

Pickled Fresno Chiles
1 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
7 ounces red Fresno chiles, seeded and thinly sliced

Bring first six ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir to dissolve sugar and remove from heat. Put chiles in glass canning jar, pour mixture into the jar, and let cool. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours.