Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples

While I was grocery shopping a couple of weeks ago, I noticed the Christmas trees coming out. Usually that’s my cue that Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I love Thanksgiving, but somehow it caught me by surprise this year, and I don’t feel ready to even think about all that cooking. In an effort to get me in the mood, I’ll spend the next few weeks looking at some delicious allergen-friendly Thanksgiving dishes. These are favorite dishes in our house that show up on the table even after Thanksgiving. So whether you’re wanting a dish to add to the table that you will actually be able to eat, or you just found out that you daughter’s new food-allergic boyfriend is joining your table and you’re scared to cook for him–don’t worry. I’ve got you covered!

Let’s start today with one of my family’s favorite dishes:

You’ll love adding this dish to your Thanksgiving menu. It’s simple to prepare, can be prepped in advance, and tastes delicious. Win-win-win. You can easily double (or triple) this recipe to feed a crowd, but you’ll need to put it into several pans for it to cook properly.

Do make an effort to use the apples that are called for. When baking with apples, they are not all created equal. If you use, say, Fuji apples, you’ll end up with roasted sweet potatoes and apple sauce. The apples called for in the recipe will hold their shape, not be mushy, and add a nice balance of sweet and tart flavors.

You could substitute some cubed winter squash (butternut, or kabocha are good) for some of the sweet potatoes. I’ve also occasionally added other root vegetables like rutabaga, parsnips or carrots. The herbs, too, can be changed to match whatever flavors will be appearing in other dishes at your table–maybe sage? or rosemary? or oregano? Any of these would be tasty. Feel free to experiment.