Orecchiette pasta with roasted sweet potatoes

I work in a "foodie" office. For example, one co-worker went part time so she could go to pastry school 2 days a week. Never is there a week that goes by when there isn't some type of home made food in the conference room! Every holiday, birthday, and event is celebrated with homemade deliciousness!

This recipe won for best pasta dish (with over 15 entries) during our Christmas pot luck competition. The competition was fierce, as the winner won a free paid day off of work! Not only is it delicious, it's also vegan! You would never know because of the delicious sweet potato that balances out with the white wine. The orecchiette is the perfect pasta to use for the dish. I describe the pasta as little cups of joy ;-) They pick up just enough of the sweet potato to have a perfect bite every time.

Orecchiette pasta with roasted sweet potatoes

(This recipe is vegan for a cholesterol-free and cruelty-free meal!)

Ingredients:

2-3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes

1 pound of orecchiette pasta

Dry white wine (good wine that you would drink)

Extra virgin olive oil

Butter (I use vegan butter, such as Earth Balance)

5-6 shallots, diced

Salt & pepper to taste

Handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

-Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

-Coat the diced sweet potatoes in 2-3 TB of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Spread out evenly on a tin-foil lined baking sheet.

-Roast the sweet potatoes in the oven, stirring occasionally, for 30-45 minutes, until tender and slightly browned.

-Meanwhile, cook the pasta and get to work on the shallots. Sautee the diced shallots in a pan over medium heat with 1 TB of butter & 1-2 TB of olive oil. -Once softened, add the wine (about half a cup) to the shallots, more butter (1 TB) and continue to cook (enough so that the wine reduces).

-Lower the heat and add the roasted sweet potatoes to the shallots in the pan, breaking up the sweet potatoes so that they mingle with the shallots.

-Add another 1/4 cup of wine and another 2 TB of butter to the sweet potato/shallot mixture. Cook for a few minutes so that the wine reduces and cooks out a bit.

-Add the cooked pasta to the mixture and throw in a handful of chopped parsley. Add salt & pepper to taste and mix everything together.
-Eat and enjoy!