Sweet potato and coriander chips with parsley tahini dip

Sweet potatoes aren’t potatoes, and these are not fries. This is a highly nutritious baked dish that’s really easy to make, delicious, yet as satisfying as French fries. Promise! 

Now let’s unpack the sweet potato and the frying issues: I have nothing against potatoes, and I state that sweet potatoes have nothing to do with them just because it’s a fact. 

Sweet potatoes are a member of the morning glory family, they come in flesh hues from the popular dark orange to purple and red and pale yellow. They have more vitamin A, more fiber and fewer calories than potatoes, which are related to tomatoes. The more color in your potato (sweet and even regular potatoes, which can come in colors other than white) the higher the level of beneficial colored plant nutrients such as anthocyanins.

Sweet potatoes also have nothing to do with yams, which are the bigger, tropical tuber with rough, bark like skin you’ve probably never tasted and never even seen in an American supermarket. Those are botanically related to lilies and grasses.

Frying, especially deep-frying, is a cooking method that adds a lot of calories to innocent vegetables – while adding great pleasure, some may argue. I fry rarely.  A lot of the bad reputation potatoes have gotten is due to our love of fried potatoes and our tendency to encrust or mix them with large amounts of fat, turning them into a calorie bomb. 

Sweet potatoes just love coriander, and yes, I do mean it when I recommend 2 tablespoons in this recipe.

Ingredients: 

• 4 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean, skin on
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

For dipping

• ½ cup tahini
• Juice of one small lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Water as needed
• 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 °F

Cut unpeeled sweet potatoes lengthwise, then into quarters; depending on potato size cut each quarter into 2-4 long wedges 

Toss potatoes with the oil and spices

Spread as one layer on baking sheet covered with parchment paper – you might need two baking sheets

Roast for 20-30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender inside, crisp on the outside and slightly caramelized

Meanwhile, make the tahini dip. Mix tahini with the lemon juice, add water gradually, until the tahini reaches the consistency of a dipping sauce. Add the chopped parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 6-8 as side dish

Enjoy,

Dr. Ayala