Twice-Baked Sweet Potato with Bacon and Green Onions

These twice-baked sweet potatoes have crispy, carmelized skins and a smooth tangy filling. Add a dollop of crème fraîche and indulge. Don’t ask me why crème fraîche is so hard to find. Until I started making it myself (cultures are from Glengarry) I never had occasion to try the stuff. Now, I love it in soups, curries, and anything that benefits from a rich, creamy kick.

Crème fraîche is similar to sour cream but less sour and with a higher fat content. You can, of course, substitute sour cream, but avoid the artificially soured kind. It doesn’t really taste good.

Green onions are a sure bet with potatoes. Sometimes they’re called scallions, but I think I prefer green onions. You’ve probably heard the song “Green Onions” by Booker T. and the M.G.’s. It’s a goody and should get you going while cooking this recipe.

I cure and smoke my own bacon, and I get my salad greens from Peter LeBlanc’s Scenic Valley Farm in Margaree Valley. Delicious.

Enjoy!

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 medium sweet potatoes
• 6 slices bacon, roughly chopped
• 4-5 green onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup crème fraîche (or sour cream or greek yogurt)
• salt + ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400°F
Bake the sweet potatoes on a baking pan for 45-55 minutes or until you can easily pierce through it with a knife.
Let them cool for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, sauté the bacon in a frying pan on medium heat until the bits are crispy, this should take about 10-15 minutes. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the green onions. Set aside.

For 2 of the potatoes, split them in half and scoop most of the flesh out, leaving about 1/4″ on the borders. Take all the flesh out of the remaining potato.
Mash, then add the butter and the bacon-green onions mixture.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Spoon the mixture back into the skins and bake for another 20-25 minutes.
Serve with the crème fraîche.

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Tagged as: bacon, lunch, salad, side dish