This is one of those unrecipes that I post every now and then. Actually, I don’t post them often enough. I love unrecipes. They’re the uncelebrated, the invisible, the humble workers that tune good recipes to sing their flavours and textures in harmony.
And they’re hardly ever written down. Cooks learn them from working in professional kitchens, or from cooking with their grandmothers. Sometimes you learn them in cooking classes (you will at mine!). And if you’re lucky, you’ll find some really good cookbooks that are littered with them. I learnt this one from Kim Boyce. Of course.
Roasting Whole Sweet Potato
- Medium sized sweet potatoes, as many as you like
Preheat an oven to 200C (400F) and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Roast the sweet potatoes until they’re completely soft and so roasted they’ve left a burnt caramel syrup on their bottoms. This could take anywhere between 1 and 2 hours, depending on the size of your sweet potato.
Let them cool until you can handle them, then gently peel off their skins and set aside their fillings, which will be solid, but soft.
This technique leaves you with a deeply flavoured, darkened sweetness, that’s perfect for adding to so many things: muffins, pancakes, couscous, salads. Or just eaten as is. Some recipes will follow soon, I promise!
You are totally right, about the importance of these non-recipes, and about Kim Boyce, of course. For instance I never tried roasting whole sweet potatoes, I always cube them to be quicker, but I can see the flesh from your picture looks way more fudgy.
Blogging is another great way to learn new basic skills
Your blog, particularly, Rosa! I love the detailed approach you take to technique.
Do you prick the sweet potatoes before you roast them?
No, not even! How unrecipe is that?!
amen on the unrecipes girl! I love them and couldn;t cook everynight if I didn’t. Roasting sweet potatoes brings out the best in them i think!
God I know, my nights are filled with unrecipes. That’s why I love blogging. Gives me an excuse to open a cookbook!
Great unrecipe. I love roasted sweet potato flesh – the sweetness is so useful for contrasting with acidic or intensely savoury flavours. Or just eating as it is – maybe with a little balsamic vinegar.
absolutely. Balsamic vinegar. actually, balsamic vinegar and cherry tomatoes straight from the garden, plus this sweet potato chopped up, and some lentils. Maybe a really nice sheep’s feta too. That would make my night. I wish I had the energy…
Agreed unrecipes are far too under appreciated! These look fantastic
P.S. loved the article and the photo
Thanks, again, Alisha!!
Cool recipe. I always used to wrap the sweet potatoes in aluminum foil, then roast them.
However, your recipe says to simply put the sweet potatoes on to top of a baking sheet lined with baking paper (I’m not sure what that is, btw…is it parchment paper?). So, I actually don’t have to wrap the sweet potatoes up at all? I always thought the moisture would escape and that they’d become hard and dry.
I really want to try your recipe but I just need clarification on those two things: the sweet potatoes don’t have to be wrapped up? and is that parchment paper that lines the baking sheet?
Thank you so much for the recipe!
Hi Roze, lovely to hear from you. Firstly, I suppose the sweet potatoes do dry out a bit, but that intensifies their flavours (which is one of those things that roasting does. Wrapping them in al foil would still cook them, but they’d steam more than roast.
And on baking paper, yes! parchment sounds right. It just saves you spending hours trying to scrub very caramelized sweet potato juices off your tray.
Let me know how you go?
Thank you so much for your reply! We tried making them the way you described, according to your instructions, and they came out wonderfully! Actually, they came out better than the way we used to make them
We think this way is healthier than using the aluminum foil, too.
Thank again for providing this unrecipe! We’ll use it from now on
That’s so great to hear, Roze!
Sweet potato is a great vegetable. Children will crave for this vegetable. It’s so lovely to see them ask us to cook vegetable right? However, I love the same cooking process as the one in this post. If I’m not in the mood to do a little magic in turning a tuber plant into delish and attractive food I usually throw sweet potatoes in the oven and I have super dish. I love to not prick it with fork. Just love to see them explode
How to Make Sweet Potato Fries
I can’t believe you’ve got a whole blog dedicated to sweet potato! Amazing! I love it.
400 is too high for sweet potatoes. they do better at 375–no bursting and burning. for larger potatoes, you will have to roast longer than 60 minutes, so plan accordingly.
Thanks Bob. I’ve definitely taken longer than 40 minutes with some of my whopping sweet potatoes! And yes, 400C is rather high, but then I rather like the burning. A little bit of char counteracts that cloying sweetness the potatoes have. Just a little bit of char.
Cooking them this way is a family hand-me-down recipe. Mom would fix them for us to come home to on cold rainy school days in late fall. We’d be cold, wet, and miserable when we turned the kitchen knob but the long soggy walk would all be forgotten when that sweet smell hit us. We would eat them whole, skin and all. Mom timed it so they’d be warm but not too hot to handle. It made for sticky hands but that’s part of the fun. Later we’d eat them at room temperature if there were any leftovers.
http://www.petitekitchenesse.com/2011/12/03/vegan-sweet-potato-coconut-milk-roasted-chili-ravioli/
Perfect recipe to try out some roasted sweet potatoes!
Wow Jolene, they look amazing! I love how you’ve fried them for a bit of crunch.
thats exactly what i was looking for . You call it a “unrecipe”!
Well, what ever you call it. I remember my mother used to put them straigth in the oven(after cleaning them a bit) .They came out exactly like that in your picture. black roasted and easy to pull out the dry skin to reveal the soft orangey flesh in the old days we had a aga . and used to put chestnuts as well – not at the same time of course.
It appeared so simple, easy and natural like, down to earth. Yet, somthing as simple as this i still seem to have the need to look it up.The recipe and times the oven temp. of the cooking. This is the “un”recipe i was looking for and i found it. Thanks very.
Hi Marie, Thanks so much for telling me this. It’s such a treat to hear your story! all my best, Angela
My grand mother used t make it a lot when I was little. The fragrance of backed whole sweet potato brings me back to my childhood every time.
Such a comforting nutritious and most of all yummm food to eat in winter!
Mine are in the oven right now! can’t wait!
And mine are in the fridge after being in the oven yesterday! Just have to find time to make something with them now…