Sweet Potato Celeriac Pasta with Tarragon Butter Sauce

Post sponsored by La Crema Wines. See below for more details.

In the past month, I've eaten more mushrooms and tofu than I've had in the rest of my life combined. My tastes are shifting and while I still won't actively seek those ingredients, I'm not opposed to the meals I'm served. So, when La Crema asked me to share a recipe that would pair with their Monterey Pinot Noir, I froze a bit. I have this preset notion that red wine and vegetarian cooking equates to mushrooms. All roads lead back to mushrooms.

Except that's not true. To balance out the sweetness of the sweet potatoes and richness of the butter, I added two earthy elements: neither are mushrooms. The celeriac brings a bit of balance but it's really the tarragon butter sauce that pulls this dish together with the pinot noir. It may seem like an odd combination, but the end result hints as the earthiness without being overpowering.

Sweet Potato Celeriac Pasta with Tarragon Butter Sauce

Print Recipe

An sweet and earthy pasta dish that features roasted sweet potatoes and celeriac tossed with whole wheat pasta and an easy tarragon butter sauce. A perfect date-night-in or weekend dinner.

• Author: Erin Alderson
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

Sweet Potatoes/Pasta

1 medium sweet potato (¾ pound)

½ medium celeriac (celery root) (¼ pound)

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon sea salt

4 ounces whole wheat long pasta (like pappardelle)

Butter Sauce

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ cup crushed hazelnuts

2 teaspoons lemon juice

½ teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon freshly minced tarragon

Pinch of Salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425˚F. Peel the sweet potato and celeriac then cut into ½” cubes. Toss with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread onto a sheet tray and roast until the vegetables are tender and starting to brown; 30 to 35 minutes.
• While the sweet potatoes are roasting, cook the pasta until tender. Drain and reserve ½ cup of pasta water. Set pasta aside.
• Return the pan used for pasta back to the stovetop. Over medium-low heat, add the butter and let melt. Add the hazelnuts and cook for a couple minutes, until fragrant. Stir in the garlic and continue to cook for another minute; just long enough for the garlic to become golden. Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice, zest, tarragon, and salt.
• Add in the roasted sweet potatoes and pasta; tossing until well combined. Add a splash of pasta water as needed to help the butter coat the noodles. This may or may not be needed. Serve with a sprinkle of chopped hazelnuts and minced tarragon if desired.

Notes

Tip + Tricks: Make the sweet potato mixture ahead of time and let it warm with the butter sauce. This will help cut-down the day-off time.

Use leftover ingredients: sweet potatoes, celeriac, tarragon

Explore La Crema Pinot Noir

I'm finding more and more that red wines are delightful to pair with vegetarian cooking. The stone fruit and earthy undertones of the Pinot Noir work well with a myriad of herbs and root vegetables. Of course, you can always pair it with a rich mushroom dish but I find I prefer this wine with slightly lighter vegetarian recipes (even a hearty warm salad!) A few recipes that work well with the pinot noir:

Grilled Celeriac with White Bean Puree
Root Vegetable Pot Pie
Chanterelle Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Disclosure: This recipe was created in partnership with La Crema. All thoughts and opinions are my own. It’s content like this that helps me keep this site running to provide the vegetarian recipes you see every week.