Roasted Sweet Potato with Chili & Lime
Excerpted from AFRICALI: Recipes from My Jikoni. Copyright @ 2024 by Kiano Moju. Photography Copyright © 2024 by Kristin Teig. Reproduced by permission of Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.
On the Kenyan Coast, street food vendors have charcoal grills roasting a variety of vegetables all day long. The sweet potatoes are cooked skin-on, and when ordered, the vendors split them open before adding a generous squeeze of lime and a few shakes of chili salt. Feel free to throw these on the grill when possible, but the seasoning alone will liven up otherwise boring roasted sweet potatoes.
How to Make It
1
Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 425°F (220°C). Line a baking tray with parchment paper or foil.
2
Arrange the sweet potatoes on the prepared tray. Using a fork or paring knife, prick them a few times each, then toss with the oil and 1 tsp. salt. Roast until they are fork-tender and lightly browned, about 45 to 50 minutes.
3
Zest the lime into a small bowl and cut the lime into wedges. Add the Aleppo pepper flakes, urfa chile, cayenne pepper, and salt to taste to the bowl of lime zest. Mix well to combine.
4
Transfer the cooked sweet potatoes to a serving platter. Squeeze the lime wedges over the sweet potatoes. Garnish with the lime zest and an extra sprinkle of pepper flakes.
Ingredients
3 lbs sweet potatoes
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
fine sea salt
1 lime
1 tsp Aleppo pepper flakes, plus more for garnish
1 tsp dried urfa chile or smoked paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
