Baked Sweet Potato, Salted Caramel Puffed Rice Noodle Topping

Baked Sweet Potato, Salted Caramel Puffed Rice Noodle Topping

Why not add a touch of whimsy to tonight’s dinner? Baked potato, ok. Baked sweet potato, even better. Baked sweet potato topped with a tangled nest of puffed brown rice vermicelli and drizzled with salted caramel, wow!

Puffed vermicelli (skinny rice noodles) are rather neutral in flavor (with a slight popcorn-y essence), fried in peanut oil for just a few seconds, the rice noodles puff up into light crisp nests. Seasoned with a bit of sea salt, they add a delightful crunch to the baked sweet potato. But to take it over the top, caramel sauce is drizzled over the puffed noodles, then it’s sprinkled with fleur de sel.

Who is going to resist a steaming orange-hued baked potato studded with butter and vanilla yogurt, seasoned with salt and pepper, then topped with sweet and salty flavors and a crunchy light-as-air garnish???

Baked Sweet Potato with Salted Caramel Puffed Vermicelli Recipe

Baked Sweet Potatoes:

Pierce your choice of sweet potatoes or yams all over with the tip of a sharp knife, about 8 times. Bake potatoes in a 350° oven for an hour plus, until the flesh is tender and the natural sweetness oozes out of the holes in the skin.

Let cool slightly then cut an “X” through the skin to expose the flesh.

Salted Caramel Sauce:

1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. milk
4 T. butter
1/4 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
1/4 t. cayenne pepper

In a small sauce pan, cook sugar, milk, butter, and salt over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the sugar caramelizes (you can tell by the aroma) and the sauce thickens, about 8 minutes. Finish by adding vanilla and cayenne, add more salt to taste.

Puffed Brown Rice Vermicelli:

several strands of dried brown rice vermicelli, loosely separated
peanut oil for deep frying
sea salt

Test oil temperature by dropping a strand of vermicelli into the hot oil. It should puff up and turn white immediately. Fry the vermicelli without over-crowding, drain puffed noodles on paper towels, season with sea salt.

I get the Organic Thai Brown Rice Vermicelli Noodles from my friends at Explore Asian here.

Assembly:

Top sweet potatoes with a pat of butter and season with salt and pepper. When the butter starts to melt add a dollop of vanilla yogurt. Place a nest of puffed vermicelli over the potatoes. Drizzle caramel sauce over the top, finish with a sprinkling of fleur de sel.

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And if my Baked Sweet Potato with Puffed Vermicelli got you in the mood for potatoes, you might enjoy taking a peek at other carb-y recipes from some fabulous bloggers below…