Roasted Sweet Potato with Chipotle Mayo

Who would have boys? In the past month I have visited the emergency department at the hospital twice, accident and emergency clinic once, and the local GP clinic twice. Between them my boys have had croup; one has fallen on a glass door, broke the glass, and injured his head; one has fallen from the top of our very steep stairs right to the bottom, resulting in another head injury and countless bruises (thankfully nothing worse), and; between them passed out three times, one of which resulted in a bleeding nose and mouth (and potential head injury) from falling but luckily that one happened at the doctors clinic.

My boys are only one and four years old. I can guarantee I will have completely grey hair and some form of nervous disorder once they are older or God forbid, they start playing rugby.

I am exhausted at the moment. I think it’s partly because it’s the middle of winter and everyone’s energy is lacking a little, but I think a big part of it is worry for my gorgeous but accident prone boys. I really can’t imagine what it must be like for parents with seriously sick children, my heart truely goes out to you wonderful brave people.

So when I’m in need of a little comfort and TLC what is better than…CARBS!! Okay, maybe chocolate but that was last post so I’m introducing carbs today for a little variety.

I love plain old spuds, especially super crispy and salty roast potatoes, but strangely I think I may actually like sweet potato, or kumara as we call it here in New Zealand, more. Problem is it is so difficult to get it all crispy on the outside like plain ol’ spuds. However, I think I may have found a way! By soaking them. Simply soaking them in cold water for at least an hour then giving them a good rinse and pat dry. So simple. I am going to be honest, this still doesn’t get them anywhere near as crispy as regular spuds, but it does make your sweet potato crispy. Crispy on the outside and soft, sweet gooey-ness on the inside. Mmmmmm.

I have tried this method on sweet potato fries, but fries are so skinny that I find they are still not crispy enough for my liking. If you’ve got any good tips I’d love to hear from you!

I love Mexican flavours! So I’ve pared the sweet potato with a creamy, smokey, tangy and slightly spicy chipotle mayo and some bright fresh coriander (cilantro). If you’re like my mother and mother-in-law and don’t like coriander (gasp!), just leave it out or you could even scatter over some mint or parsley for some greenery.

I’m going to go and sit down now with my big bowl of carbs (probably followed by a lot of chocolate and maybe a glass of red wine) and calm my nerves ready for my boys’ next surprise.

xo Kate

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Roasted Sweet Potato with Chipotle Mayo

Prep Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes

Servings 2

Author My Little Larder

Ingredients

For the sweet potato:

• 500 g/1lb orange sweet potato (kumara)
• 1 Tbsp grapeseed oil
• 1/2 Tbsp whole cumin seeds
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh coriander (cilantro) roughly chopped

For the chipotle mayo:

• 1/4 cup good quality store-bought mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp pureed chipotle peppers in adobo see note
• 1 Tbsp lime juice

Instructions

1. Cut sweet potato into 1cm (1/2in) thick circles. Fill a large bowl with cold water, add the sweet potato slices and allow to soak for at least 1 hour. Drain the water, rinse the sweet potato under fresh cold eater then dry throughly with a tea (kitchen) towel. Dry the bowl and return the sweet potato to it.
2. Preheat oven to 200C/400F on fan bake. Line a baking tray with baking (parchment) paper and place in the oven immediately.
3. Drizzle the sweet potato with oil. Lightly crush the cumin seeds in a mortar and pestle (or spice grinder) and scatter over the sweet potato with 1/2 tsp sea salt and 1/4 cracked pepper. Toss to coat. I find the easiest way is with my hands.
4. Remove the baking tray from the oven and arrange sweet potato on the baking tray in a single layer. Roast for 30-40 min, until golden and crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, turning after 15 min.
5. Sprinkle over remaining 1/2 tsp sea salt and 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper. Drizzle over chipotle mayo (or serve on the side) and scatter over coriander (cilantro). Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

You can find chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in the Mexican section of the International foods at your local supermarket. It usually comes in a little tin. I blend the peppers with the sauce (or you can chop finely if you don’t have a blender), use what I need then freeze the rest.

If you make this, I would love to see! Tag your photo with #mylittlelarder on Instagram or Facebook.

If you’re looking for some other delicious sides from My Little Larder then you may like:

• Best Ever Crispy Brussel Sprouts
• Blue Cheese Oven Baked Fries
• Miso Glazed Eggplant
• Roasted Asparagus