020 / 75 · Small bites, big entrance
Sweet Potato Pickle Pinwheels
24 baked tortilla pinwheel pieces, including the less-uniform end pieces · Active 35 min · Cook 1 hr 20 min · Total 2 hr 20 min
Print recipe · PDFSweet potato and chopped pickle make a soft, sharp filling inside baked tortilla spirals. The ends are served too; the recipe does not quietly discard a third of the rolls to make every piece identical.
Weigh the cooked flesh
Roasting concentrates sweet potato differently depending on its size. The filling uses 300 g of cooked flesh, not a guessed number of tubers. Reserve any excess separately rather than making a wetter, heavier filling.
Chop the pickle small
Large chunks push through the tortilla when the roll is cut. Drain, blot and finely chop the pickle. The cheese and mashed potato hold the small pieces so the spirals can be moved with a spatula.
Ingredients
- About 450–500 g/1 lb raw sweet potatoes; roast and weigh 300 g/10½ oz flesh, reserving extra separately
- 4 plain flour tortillas, about 20 cm/8 in wide and 50 g each
- 80 g/3 oz plain cream cheese
- 80 g/3 oz cheddar, finely grated
- 60 g/2 oz drained pickled cucumber, blotted and finely chopped
- 10 g Dijon mustard (2 teaspoons)
- 10 ml olive oil (2 teaspoons), divided 5 ml tray and 5 ml tops
- 0.5 g black pepper (¼ teaspoon)
Set out
Oven, Baking tray, Knife and board, Fork and bowl, Scale, Spatula, Pastry brush, Second rimmed tray with usable 40 × 30 cm/16 × 12 in base, Food thermometer, Foil, Refrigerator and rigid shallow box
Allergens
Wheat, Milk, Mustard. Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Heat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Wash and prick sweet potatoes, put on the first tray and roast 45–60 minutes until completely tender. Split and cool 20 minutes. Weigh 300 g flesh into the bowl; reserve all extra flesh and skins separately.
- Mash the measured flesh with cream cheese, cheddar, pickle, mustard and pepper. Divide the entire filling among 4 tortillas, about 130 g per tortilla. Spread evenly, leaving a 1 cm/⅜ in clear edge.
- Roll each tortilla firmly without squeezing filling out. Cut each roll into 6 pieces with a sharp knife, giving 24 pieces including the ends. Grease the second tray with 5 ml oil and set pieces cut-side up in one uncrowded layer. Brush tops with the remaining 5 ml oil.
- Bake 15–20 minutes at 400°F/200°C until edges are crisp and the filling reaches 165°F/74°C in several center pieces. Rest 5 minutes, then lift with the spatula. Keep pieces upright rather than stacking them while hot.
Bring it
Use a rigid one-layer covered tray. Carry hot at 140°F/60°C or above, or chilled at 40°F/4°C or below. All time outside temperature control during travel and display shares 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C.
Finish at the gathering
For chilled pieces, request a 375°F/190°C oven for 12–20 minutes, until the filling reaches 165°F/74°C. Take your own spatula; the host should not need to roll or slice tortillas.
Make it yours
Set out the 24 pieces in rows rather than hiding the tapered ends underneath. The orange filling and tangy pickle work for a casual winter buffet without a sweet sauce.
Ingredient labels
Flour tortillas contain wheat and may contain soy; cream cheese and cheddar contain milk. Dijon contains mustard. Check pickles and tortillas for other ingredients.
A useful detail
The 140-minute total includes raw sweet-potato roasting, cooling, filling and cutting, then up to 20 minutes final baking. A larger potato can take longer than 1 hour; the 300 g cooked-flesh weight remains the control.
Another way
- Use 300 g thick cooked pumpkin mash in place of sweet potato; drain away free water before weighing.
- Use 60 g finely chopped drained pickled beets instead of cucumber for a different sharp accent; the filling will take on pink streaks.
Keep it well
Refrigerate shallow portions promptly at 40°F/4°C or below and use within 2 days or the earliest opened dairy/tortilla deadline. Follow the Bring it handling limits; reheat centers to 165°F/74°C. The tortillas soften after chilling.