Sweet Potato Bites with Herb Whipped Feta

This past weekend I visited Washington DC to celebrate one of my best friend’s 25th birthday. I left with both my heart and tummy so full (in the best way possible). I have been to DC twice previously over the past two years (my younger sister attends Maryland University which is very close to the city), and I can easily say I have never been disappointed by any of the food there. This trip we indulged with quite the variety of foods: Greek, Turkish, Italian, Indian, American.. plus a fair share of coffee and doughnut shops.

While the theme of our trip was getting an array of dishes at each place to share–this doughnut was not one of them. This delicious square was all mine in all its lemony creme-filled wonder. Who ever said dietitians don’t eat sweets? Now, don’t get me wrong, there was definitely a time in my life I would have only had half and still felt guilty about it. But that was a long time ago and now I look back and think to myself… how many amazing treats did I miss out on?! It’s really the diet culture that is the culprit of this annoying “treats are evil” stigma in the first place…

And, rather than restricting myself at lunch because I ate a doughnut not too long beforehand, I listened to my hunger cues and enjoyed these amazing mezzes at the restaurant Zaytinya:

I will spare you the details of every single other meal.. but all in all, it was amazing and it got me thinking that I need to make more small, shareable dishes! I have been making a lot of bowls or other combination meals, which are great, but I figured I should switch it up. So, this week, I crafted up these sweet potato bites with an herbed whipped feta spread and two variations of toppings. They are sort of like crostini but on sweet potatoes instead of bread–and they were fantastic. Now, ironically, I did not do this intentionally. I actually had thought I had bread at home to make some bruschetta but when I got home from the store, realized I in fact did not…

But seriously, these turned out just as good if not better… and look how cute they are! And more importantly how delicious. The first variation is a simple mix of red and yellow vine tomatoes, red onion, garlic, and a dash of olive oil and balsamic.

The second, sliced pear with a drop of honey, thyme, and glazed walnuts

All of them have the herb whipped feta spread. Seriously, next time you need or want to make an appetizer, give this a try.

Sweet Potato Bites with Herb Whipped Feta Spread:

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes-cut into rounds (or however many you want to make)

Olive oil for drizzling

Herb Feta Spread:

Feta cheese (6 oz)

Cream cheese (2 oz)

Green onion (1-2 T, diced)

Chives (1 T, chopped)

Oregano (1 pinch)

Olive oil (3 T)

Lemon juice + zest (1/2 lemon)

Salt + Pepper to taste

Toppings:

Pear (sliced thinly)

Fresh thyme

Honey

Glazed walnuts

Red onion (1/4, diced)

Red vine tomato (or grape tomatoes) (diced)

Yellow vine tomato (or grape) (diced)

Balsamic vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 400. Line sweet potato circles on a non-stick pan. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Bake for ~40 minutes, flipping halfway through.
2. While the sweet potatoes are baking, prep the whipped feta spread. Add feta cheese and cream cheese to a food processor or blender. Mix until combined. Add in the green onions, chives, oregano, olive oil, lemon juice/zest, salt and pepper. Blend until combined.
3. Remove sweet potatoes when done and allow to cool. Once cool, spread whipped feta onto one side of each potato.
4. For variation one: add some red tomatoes, orange tomatoes, and red onion. Then add a dash of balsamic.
5. For variation two: add two pear slices, then a drop of honey; top with some thyme and a few glazed walnut pieces.
6. Serve immediately 🙂

**Use the leftover whipped feta spread as a topping for breads or as a dip for crackers or vegetables. Keep refrigerated in air tight container.