Terry and I moved to Nashville, TN in 1992 and spent 10 fantastic years there.  We were there when Nashville went through a fantastic resurgence and growth.  We were there when Garth Brooks was electric and when the Tennessee Titans came to town and ignited the entire city.  Both our children were born in Nashville and we have very fond memories of the city.  Before becoming a mom, I worked as a banker in downtown Nashville.  I had a fantastic boss, who also ended up being a fantastic friend.  She took it upon herself to introduce me all the gastronomic wonders that Nashville beheld.  One of the first restaurants she took me to, and the one that probably remained my favorite, was The Mad Platter, located in the historic Germantown neighborhood of Nashville.  While my taste buds are generally open to just about anything and I really do enjoying trying new and different food, I definitely have my ‘go-to's'.  If I'm in a Thai restaurant, 99.9% of the time I'll order Panang curry or if I'm eating at Zoe's Kitchen, you can put money on the fact that I'll order their Hummus and Salad Plate…hold the onions.  The same held true for The Mad Platter.  I can't tell you how many times I ate there, but when I did, I always ordered their Pasta Mad Platter (this was back in my still eating pasta days).  From their menu, Pasta Mad Platter is described as a “Sauté of Chorizo Sausage, Artichokes, Spinach, Mushrooms, Onions, Garlic, Olive Oil & Fresh Herbs Over Linguini; Topped with Montrachet & Sun-Dried Tomatoes.”  For what its worth, that combination of ingredients equals D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S!!  25 years after I probably had my first plate of Pasta Mad Platter and my mouth waters at the thought.  Here's a question…are there foods/tastes/recipes that have stuck with you over many years?  I have several…the steamed dumplings at Jasmine in Brentwood, TN and Pasta Mad Platter are two of them.

All this by way of explaining the genesis of this recipe.  I had some sweet potatoes to use up and thought I'd spiralize them.  I'm always looking for ways to use kale right now as I have an abundance of the green stuff in my garden.  I had goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes and turkey Italian sausage in my fridge and a jar of artichoke hearts in my pantry.   Once I took stock of these ingredients, the logical conclusion was a riff on Pasta Mad Platter. Kitchen Kismet.  I love it when something actually comes together as you had hoped and this recipe for sweet potato pasta will surely be added to our repertoire of go to meals.  

Enjoy this recipe for sweet potato pasta and the next time your in Nashville, check out The Mad Platter!

Mad Sweet Potato Pasta

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Spiralized sweet potato pasta with sausage, garlic, shallots, artichoke hearts, kale, goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes.

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Ingredients

• 2 large sweet potatoes, spiralized using thin shredding blade
• 1 lb cooked and crumbled sausage, I used italian, but think chorizo would be good,
• 2 cups kale or spinach, sliced thin
• 8 -10 artichoke hearts, quartered
• 5 cloves of garlic, sliced very thin
• 1 shallot, sliced very thin
• 1/2 cup chicken broth, or vegetable
• 2-3 oz goat cheese
• 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 425' and pour 2 tablespoons olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet. I used my hands to spread the oil over the pan and then rubbed the oil from my hands into the sweet potato noodles to lightly coat them. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
3. While sweet potato pasta is roasting, add another 1-2 tablespoons oil to large skillet and heat to medium. Add sliced garlic and shallots and cook slowly for 3 minutes, making sure they don't brown.
4. Add kale or spinach, and saute slowly until it wilts, another 3-5 minutes.
5. Add broth and simmer slowly until sweet potato noodles are done
6. Add noodles to skillet, along with artichoke hearts, sausage and sun dried tomatoes, and toss.
7. Leave on heat just long enough to warm artichoke hearts and sausage, being careful not to break up artichoke hearts.
8. Serve topped with goat cheese.

 FYI…graduation is this weekend, along with a reunion with many of our family members and a big party on Sunday.  I will be stepping away from the computer to soak it all up.  I'll catch back up with you next week.

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Until next time,  

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