Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges with Cilantro Yogurt
I’m always looking for new ways to prepare sweet potatoes. I’ve tried so many different ways to bake them, so that they come out tasting fried. But, guess what? They never taste fried when they are baked. What a bummer. I’ve pretty much given up trying. But, I still love sweet potatoes over their white and yellow cousins.
When I saw the sauce for these potatoes, I was definitely intrigued to give them a try! The combination of flavours is different, but works really well together. Also, these can be eaten warm or at room temperature. Bonus! The cinnamon in this recipe adds a warmth to the potatoes that is almost unexpected. I also really like the caramelization that happens the longer you bake these potatoes. The original recipe suggests roasting your potato wedges for 25-30 minutes, but I think they are better roasted for 40-45 minutes, so you can achieve that yummy caramelization. They aren’t burnt, even though they may look it. They are perfect!! You can leave the skin on these beauties! It helps to hold them together.
To sprinkle the cinnamon evenly onto the wedges, I added it into my salt and then mixed the two together.
I find cinnamon can clump when sprinkled on its own and blending these two ingredients together made it easy to distribute them generously over each wedge.
These are a year-round sweet potato recipe. They would pair just as well in the fall with a side of turkey as they would in the summer with a burger.
What is not pictured in the photos is a drizzle of sriracha. It adds a nice kick, but be careful not to add too much. Michael got a mouthful of hot sauce and couldn’t taste much else. Oops! 🙂 I actually made these for a second night in a row last night, and I kept the sriracha off to the side, so that we could add it if we wanted. Michael opted not to add any. It’s really a personal preference if you want to add a bit of heat or not.
The next time I make this recipe, I do think I will serve both the yogurt sauce and the sriracha on the side, so that everyone can control how much of what they want on their potatoes. Leila wasn’t as interested in the sauce, but really loved the sweet potatoes. I had already drizzled all of the sauce all over them and she was bummed about that. I won’t make that mistake twice…or three times.
Enjoy!
Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges with Cilantro Yogurt
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro, very finely chopped, plus more for serving About 1/2 cup once finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch wedges
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Sriracha, for drizzling (optional)
- 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Mix together the yogurt, garlic, cilantro, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Toss the sweet potatoes with the cinnamon, 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt.
- Spread evenly on a sheet pan lined with parchment. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.*
- Transfer the sweet potatoes to a serving plate, and dollop with the yogurt sauce (serving any remaining on the side), drizzle with sriracha (if using), and sprinkle on the pine nuts and remaining cilantro.
Notes
Pork, Sweet Potato and Apple Sauté
I haven’t posted anything in a while. We went home to my parents house in Windsor for Easter and ended up staying there over a week because my daughter became so sick, we didn’t feel comfortable travelling with her in her state. She ended up being diagnosed with pneumonia, was put on the right medication and was finally able to sleep through the night without spiking a temperature of 104 F.
While we were there, my sister and brother-in-law somehow convinced both my parents and my husband and I to join them in doing the Whole 30 program. It’s basically a 30 day plan to help reset your system and help people identify foods that may be affecting them negatively. So, that means, no dairy, gluten, legumes, grains, soy, or alcohol. FOR THIRTY DAYS!!! What’s left? Lots of eggs, meats, fish, nuts, vegetables, and fruit. Day 8 starts tomorrow, and while things are going pretty well, I miss my wine and cheese.
I’ve learned with this plan that planning and creativity in the kitchen are important or deprivation will set in. So, I began to think of some recipes that might work with the ingredients I can use. This recipe, I’ve made many times in the past. It’s very satisfying and kid friendly, which is a bonus. The original recipe calls for butter, which I can’t currently use while on Whole 30. But, I can use clarified butter, or ghee. We didn’t notice the difference. It was exactly what I needed on a night where I was craving sugar! The natural sweetness of the sweet potato and apple in this recipe worked to curb my cravings! Here’s what happened…
You want to start by getting all of your ingredients sliced, cubed and diced. Salt and pepper your pork medallions at this point as well.
In a large skillet, over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon each butter (or ghee in this case) and oil and add your chopped sweet potato, so that they are all in one layer. Don’t stir them too much, as you want them to crisp as much as possible. This step will take about 10 minutes. After that, put 3 tablespoons of water in the pan and cover with a lid to finish cooking.
When the sweet potatoes have cooked through, remove them from the pan and add another tablespoon of butter and olive oil. Add the apple and onion together and season with a bit of salt. About 1/2 teaspoon. Cook until both have browned slightly. Stir in grated ginger*. Add 2 tablespoons each water and apple cider vinegar to the apples and onions and then remove them, adding them into the bowl you have set aside with the sweet potato.
*Ginger lasts longest in the freezer and grates really easily with a microplane. Peel the skin of the ginger with a spoon, and place it in the freezer until you need it. Grate it when frozen and put it back into the freezer till the next time.
Add another tablespoon each butter and oil to your pan and now add your pork medallions. Cook a few minutes, each side.
It should look like this. Remove the pork from the pan. Add 2 more tablespoons each water and apple cider vinegar and scrape up all the bits of goodness left on the bottom of the pan.
Return the sweet potato, apple and onion mixture into the pan and heat through.
My picture isn’t the greatest. But, this dish is worth the risk! It’s yummy!
Don’t be taken by the butter and olive oil in this dish. This is a nicely balanced, healthy dish!
If you have any parsley, use it to add a punch of color to this dish.
Here’s what you need to do:
Pork, Sweet Potato and Apple Saute
1 Sweet Potato, peeled and cut into cubes
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 apple, cubed (any apple will do, recommended: Golden Delicious)
1 medium pork tenderloin
salt and pepper for seasoning
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1 inch piece of ginger, grated
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons parsley (optional)
Cut up your pork, sweet potato and onions and set aside until ready to use. Season your pork medallions with salt and pepper.
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon each butter and olive oil. Add sweet potato in one layer and season with salt and pepper. Sauté until potatoes begin to crisp, about 10 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons water to the pan and cover to let the potatoes finish cooking. Uncover and transfer to a bowl.
Raise heat to medium high and add another 1 tablespoon each butter and olive oil. Add both the onion and the apple together and season with a little salt. Cook until slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in ginger and cook for another minute. Pour 2 tablespoons each water and cider vinegar, mix into apples and onions and remove and place mixture into bowl with the sweet potatoes.
Add another tablespoon each butter and olive oil and add the pork medallions. Cook for about 2 minutes a side or until they are lightly brown. Transfer the pork to a plate. Carefully pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of water and cider vinegar and scrape up all the bits of goodness left on the pan from the pork. Return the sweet potato mixture into the pan, and heat through. Serve with 2 or 3 pork medallions.
Enjoy!
(Source: Fine Cooking One-Pot Meals Winter 2013)
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