Sweet Potatoes

It’s the first day of November, and out my window I’m contemplating gray skies that promise more rain and an eventual tapering off of the humid heat that has plagued this early fall. I’m contemplating Election Day and the tapering off of partisan politics that has festooned every road in the county with red, white and blue cardboard—hardly the colors of fall, to my way of thinking.

I want to wake up to the distant smell of cedar smoke, curling from a chimney through the mist along the Blanco. I want the grays to go silver in the early light and flare with the burnished flame of red Spanish Oak and pyracantha berries. I want the colors of sage and pumpkin and the neon gold of coal embers in a banked fire.

I want to think about sweet potatoes. I mean you have to this time of year. It’s almost Thanksgiving, and, this being sort of the South, you have to have sweet potatoes on your Thanksgiving table, whether you like them or not. It’s part of the tradition, and you would probably miss them if they weren’t there, even if you didn’t plan to eat any in the first place. You would walk away from the table, full to satiety, but nursing some dull ache, some annoying want that nagged its unfulfillment like the voice of some tiny gnat in your ear.

Where were the sweet potatoes?

I think people shy away from sweet potatoes because the tubers are often too sweet in their final execution. They make their way to the table festooned in, of all things, the frothy meringue of marshmallows, like a stout woman in an overwrought tutu. They are gratuitous and symbolic. We need their presence, but we’re not sure we really like them. We nod at them, then pass them by because we can.

But that is so unfair to the sweet potato, which is actually a glorious creature. (And, for those who pay attention, it’s good for you, too.) My mother used to serve them at the occasional non-holiday dinner, simply baked in their rust-hued jackets, split open and bathed in butter. To my way of thinking, that’s hard to beat, but the presentation is rustic and basic, at best. It’s interactive eating (you have to dress the potato.)

I have another thought for the holidays—a beautiful and versatile presentation that can be served hot or cold and works as well at a fall picnic as it does on the ceremonial table. Try this and see if your appreciation of the orange-fleshed sweet potato doesn’t soar.

Sweet Potatoes with Garlic, Cilantro and Maple Syrup

2 medium sweet potatoes

4 T olive oilkosher or sea salt

4 cloves of garlic

½ bunch cilantro

juice of 1 lime

maple syrup

red pepper flakes

Place a large baking sheet in your oven and preheat to 450.
Peel 2 sweet potatoes and slice into ½ inch rounds. If they are fat, slice them in half lengthwise first. Toss them in a big bowl with about 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and coarse-grained kosher or sea salt.
Pull the hot baking sheet from the oven and quickly pour the sweet potatoes onto the pan in a single, sizzling layer. Put them back in the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes.
Finely chop or process about 4 cloves of garlic (more, if you really like garlic. I do.) Wash and roughly chop about ½ a bunch of cilantro. Squeeze juice of 1 lime. Add garlic, cilantro and limejuice to bowl in which you tossed the potatoes.
When the timer goes off, check the potatoes. They should be browning on the underside. If they are not, give them a little more time. If you know you have a particularly hot oven, or you just want to be real careful, check them earlier. They should brown, not burn. When lightly browned, flip them over and check them after five minutes. Take them out when they begin to brown on the other side. Timing will vary with ovens, so pay attention.When the sweet potatoes have browned, take them out and toss them with the lime, cilantro, garlic mixture. Add a sprinkling of red pepper flakes and about 1 T of maple syrup. Taste the sweet potatoes, and adjust the seasonings according to your taste. Don’t be afraid to add more—or less—of anything. Make this dish your own. You’ll be proud of it.
Think autumn. Think golds and greens and deep, rich melodies.

Think sweet potatoes.Enjoy!