This recipe marries the ingredients of a recipe that I had saved from a Relish magazine, and the method of a cooking potatoes that I watched Melissa d’Arabian use on Food Network.  I am happy to say that it is a happy marriage.

The Bombay Sweet Potato recipe from Chef Jon Ashton in Relish used boiled sweet potatoes, and I wanted more of a potato hash.  By using a technique I learned by watching Melissa’s show with a regular potato, I transformed the sweet potatoes into crunchy flavor bombs.  It requires both stove top and oven preparations, but neither is labor-intensive nor time-consuming.  This recipe should make 4 reasonably-sized servings, but if you end up splitting it with two people, you’ve still only eaten one sweet potato.  Just try saving some for later!  These potatoes would be an amazing pairing for eggs at breakfast!

For lunch, I paired these sweet potatoes with a spinach salad and my Chef Ashton-inspired Paleo Indian Spiced Chicken.  It was one of my favorite and best meals I’ve ever made!  I’m sure you will stop trusting me on that one of these days… but I truly believe the preparation and pairing was a wild success!  Serving both with greens, cauliflower rice infused with saffron, or rice/naan (if you want to indulge) will soak up all the delicious Indian flavors… without a restaurant (or the relatives of your Indian roommate).  🙂

For sauteing sweet potatoes briefly on the stove, make sure your pan has a matching lid (I’ve gotten caught with mismatching kitchen equipment before, and it is a pain).  Capping the pan and steaming them for a couple of minutes helps to cook the inside, and then the oven crisps them up nicely!

Ingredients

• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1-2 tbs coconut oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbs grated fresh ginger
• 1 medium onion, diced (I used red onion)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• sea salt, black pepper, to taste

Instructions

• 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• 2. In a large nonstick pan, heat oil over medium/med-high heat
• 3. Add the sweet potato cubes and season with sea salt and pepper, to taste
• 4. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently
• 5. Turn up heat to medium-high, add the water, stir, and cover the pan with a lid
• 6. Steam sweet potatoes about 3 minutes, or until the water evaporates (each minute, open the lid to stir so they don’t get too brown on one side)
• 7. Remove lid, turn stove off, and toss potatoes until no moisture remains
• 8. Spread sweet potatoes out on a parchment paper-covered wire rack inside a baking pan
• 9. Place in oven and bake until potatoes have slightly browned, about 20-25 minute
• 10. Meanwhile, 1tbs coconut oil in same large skillet on medium-high heat
• 11. Add onion, bay leaf, and saute until onion is soft, and a golden color
• 12. Reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic, tomatoes, turmeric, and chili powder chili powder
• 13. Stir until ingredients are incorporated, then turn off stove and remove from heat
• 14. When sweet potatoes have baked, add them to skillet, tossing until potatoes are coated evenly with spice
• 15. Enjoy!