I’ve been making tahini dressing for my gem lettuce salads, and thought it would be delicious on sweet potatoes! This recipe is slightly different because it’s a butter not a vinaigrette. If you like tahini then try making the dressing too!

What you need: 

• 2 sweet potatoes, a half a potato per person
• 3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup
• a squeeze of lemon juice
• Salt & Pepper

Cook the sweet potatoes however you’d like: baked or steamed. I usually bake them whole in the oven (pierced with a fork) for about 40 minutes at 425 F. You can also use an instant pot to cook them in half the time. Lately, I’ve been using a steamer basket in a pot and steaming them on the stove for 25-30 minutes. (Prepare your steamer, then cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, and steam!)

While your potatoes are cooking, make your tahini butter. Flavored butters are simple to make, and have a big impact! I store my butter in a butter dish on the counter and that makes whipping up a flavored butter an easy task. If you have your grandmother’s butter dish lying around, it’s worth dusting off!

With a small spatula or fork, mash together the butter, tahini, maple syrup, lemon juice, and salt & pepper. Season to taste and add a bit more of anything that it needs. I like lots of pepper for this recipe. (If the butter isn’t totally smooth, don’t fret! It will taste delicious!) Once you can touch the cooked sweet potatoes, cut them in half lengthwise and smother with butter! Serve warm. 

If you want to make this ahead of time, say for your lunch box, simply cook the potatoes and make the butter and keep them separate. Then lather the butter on when serving!