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I’d often come home from school to be greeted by one of my favorite snacks: piping hot Korean sweet potatoes that my mom scooped up on her run to our local Korean grocery store. She roasted them with their papery skins still on, and I’d gingerly peel them back to reveal the caramelized, custardy center. Although these are delightful on their own, in the Kim family home and many others, briny kimchi is the go-to pairing.
I still indulge in this childhood snack, but with my own twist on the classic combination: butter. The creamy lusciousness of butter mellows the tangy spiciness of kimchi, adding depth and making it that much more cravable. And thus, kimchi compound butter was born. A quick blitz in a food processor and you have a spread versatile enough to drop into stir-fries, melt into pasta, and, most importantly, generously dollop onto steaming hot sweet potatoes.
Here’s how to make Roasted Sweet Potatoes With Kimchi Butter:
Preheat your oven to 425°. In a food processor, combine 1 stick room-temperature unsalted butter, ½ cup kimchi (sans brine, but if a little gets in, no sweat), 1 tsp. kosher salt, and a drizzle of sesame oil. Blitz together until the kimchi is finely chopped and incorporated. If there’s a little liquid separated, give it a few more pulses. Scoop the kimchi butter onto a sheet of parchment paper and tightly roll into a log. Put it in the fridge to firm up while you roast your sweet potatoes.
Wash and dry 4 sweet potatoes (Korean sweet potatoes, or supermarket Beauregard sweet potatoes are both delicious and would work here). Prick with a fork all over. Place on a parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 50–60 minutes, until a fork goes into the thickest part of the potato without any resistance—to me, the softer, the better.
Remove the compound butter from the fridge, cut a thick slice, and tuck into a split-open sweet potato. Finish with flaky salt and sesame seeds.
This recipe originally appeared on Bon Appetit US
