Hot Sweet Potatoes

I know sweet potatoes are healthier than regular potatoes, if the sweet potatoes aren't COVERED in sugar and butter :) I found this recipe for a Spicy Sweet potato and had to try it out! I had trouble with my ingredient substitutions (I didnt have the garlic and onion powder, so I used fresh... which were to wet for the dry rub... So I added some water and oil to make it more of a marinade, which then made the flavors not as spicy and strong BUT they still tasted awesome!). Also, I didn't do the smashing part, because I just wanted to try slices, but next time I will! Hopefully making crispier edges!
With all that said, this was a great idea and a great recipe! Instead of giving you my take, I think the original was better, so I will just write that recipe (and I will be following it for next time!).

Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes
1 & 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon New Mexico chili powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/8 teaspoon granulated garlic

Directions:
Put 1/2 teaspoon of salt in 2 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and set the timer for 10 minutes – time from when you put the potatoes in, not from when the water starts to boil.
These ended up taking about 12 minutes, though I pulled out a couple that were just a touch thinner a couple minutes sooner than that. You want them to be somewhat soft but not cooked through. Let them cool off for 10 or 15 minutes – they will hold together a little better for the next step.

Blend the spices together really well with a fork, making to sure to get the sugar completely incorporated. Then I added about ten coarse grinds of black pepper and mixed that in too.

Being careful not to squash them too much, flatten each sweet potato disk slightly. I did this right on the parchment paper on my baking sheet, and used a small bowl with a clear bottom, so I could see what I was doing. The potato stuck to the bowl each time, but I just carefully slip a spatula in there and they came right off and stayed together nicely. If they had come apart on me at all, I’d have just pressed them back into a circle on the pan. I drizzled each of them with a mixture of two tablespoon melted butted and two tablespoons olive oil and then sprinkled each one with the spice mixture, pressing it lightly on the surface. I carefully turned them over and coated the other side with the butter/oil and the spices.

This is my version, with the marinade and sliced sweet potatoes.

I roasted them in the oven, set at 375º for about 15 minutes, turned them over and roasted them another 10 minutes, till they had a nice crust on both sides from the caramelization of the sugar and spices.
If I were using fresher potatoes – and normally I would be, since it is unusual for them to sit around very long here – I would skip the parboil and begin roasting them right on the baking sheet from the start, and then when they got soft enough to flatten I would proceed with the rest of the steps. You actually don’t have to flatten them at all of course, but it does provide more surface area and some ruffly sort of edges for getting more crunch on them – worth the bother in my opinion.


These really tasted good and my husband wants me to make them again, yay! I just wish it had MORE flavor, which could have been accomplished with the rub version, or soaking the potatoes longer (maybe).