Yee-haw! Steal this chef’s sweet potato appetizer

In this special weekly feature, “Today” food editor Phil Lempert brings you recipes “stolen” (with permission) from notable restaurants across the world. See how much money you can save — and fun you can have — by cooking these dishes at home!

This week: Sweet Potato Hummus, from Restaurant Zola, in Nashville, Tenn.

Think Nashville is just grits and bluegrass? Think again. It may be Music City, USA, but it’s also the state capital and has long been a sophisticated town, with restaurants to match.

So before you head to the Grand Ole Opry, you might want to make dinner reservations at Zola, consistently voted as the top eatery in the city.

Chef-owner Debra Paquette, who for the past two years has won the Nashville Scene’s Readers Poll for Best Chef, mixes Southern European and New South cuisines, as evidenced in one of her most popular dishes — and our “stolen” recipe — Sweet Potato Hummus.

More about the chef:
Paquette, who opened Zola seven years ago, is featured in the October issue of Gourmet, in which her restaurant was named to the magazine’s Top 60 list. "ZOLA is vibrant,” said Gourmet, “swathed in exotic fabrics and finishes, and serves lusty, exuberant, mostly Mediterranean food." She received the “Restaurateur of the Year” award from the Tennessee Chefs Association in 1998 and 1999. She is also featured in two new cookbooks, "Cooking From the Heart" and "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish."

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A 1978 Culinary Institute of America graduate, Paquette has been a long-time culinary force in the city, having run the kitchens of the noted Cakewalk and Bound’ry restaurants since 1987. She also holds a BS in hospitality management from Florida International University and was the first woman in Tennessee to qualify as a certified executive chef. A two-time winner of “Chef of the Year” from Nashville Life magazine, she has also been featured in Bon Appetit and Southern Living magazines and on the Discovery Channel series “Great Chefs of the South.”

(PLEASE NOTE: Ingredient prices are estimates and based on national averages. Amounts listed are for one portion. Increase proportionately according to number of portions desired.)

Sweet Potato Hummus
(At Zola: $6.50; cook at home cost: $3.63)

1 pound sweet potatoes ($0.78)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds ($0.08)
1 large lemon, juiced ($0.35)
1 teaspoon salt ($0.01)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper ($0.02)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper ($0.01)
1 tablespoon tahini ($0.19)
1 tablespoon olive oil ($0.15)
3 teaspoons brown sugar ($0.07)
Zest of one orange ($0.40)
Pita slices, toasted, or bagel chips ($0.50)
1 teaspoon crumbled feta cheese ($0.13)
1 teaspoon toasted pistachios ($0.11)

Bake or microwave sweet potatoes until fully cooked. Allow the potatoes to cool, then remove the skins and discard them, retaining the flesh. Toast the cumin seeds on low heat, then crush by hand. (Seeds can be crushed by using a mortar and pestle or by smashing between a saucepan and cutting board.) Add seeds and sweet potato to the food processor, together with the lemon juice, salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, olive oil, brown sugar, orange zest and tahini.  (Tahini is a thick paste made of ground sesame seeds that can be purchased already prepared from many supermarkets and specialty stores.) Blend until smooth and creamy. (You may want to add more salt or sugar, depending on the sweetness of the potatoes.)

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Serve hummus with toasted pita or bagel chips. Scoop hummus onto decorative plate, then place candied chiles (see recipe below) in the center of the hummus. Sprinkle with feta and toasted pistachios.

Candied Peppers
1/4 of a Poblano pepper ($0.45)
1 red chili pepper ($0.26)
1/4 cup sugar ($0.12)
2/3 cup water
Salt to taste

Clean ribs and seeds from the peppers. Use a sharp knife to cut peppers into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Place peppers in the sugar water and simmer on medium heat until liquid becomes syrupy. (If you don't want to handle red chilies, substitute a red bell pepper and a teaspoon of chili flakes.)

Zola Restaurant
3001 West End Avenue
Nashville, Tenn.
615-320-7778
www.restaurantzola.com

Want to find out how you can make your favorite restaurant dish at home? Just e-mail Phil at Phil.Lempert@nbc.com (or use the mail box below) with the name of the restaurant, city and state, and the dish you would like to have re-created. Want to know more about Phil and food? Visit his Web site at www.supermarketguru.com.

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