I know that I praise most of the recipes I post on this blog as being tasty and delicious, but really, why would I post them if they weren’t? I say that now because I do not want this one to be glossed over as I proceed to tell you how amazing it is. This is truly one of our favorite recipes, and I really hope some of you give it a shot, and tell me what you think. I like to tease Abby about how she used to tell me that she hated sweet potatoes, but now she gets excited when I mention I am going to whip up a batch of these babies. I have decided I want to make it a personal goal to find recipes that will take foods she thinks she doesn’t like, and turn them into favorite dishes.

I’m going to answer your first thought when you see the recipe… yes, that IS a lot of garlic and cilantro. One great thing about it, is that since it is used as a topping, you can decide individually how much you want on your portion. For Abby and I, we love to pile on the chimichurri sauce.

If you have never used a chipotle (chee-POAT-lay) pepper in your cooking, you are in for a treat. A chipotle is a smoked or dried jalapeño pepper, and when canned, typically comes in a rich, smoky adobo sauce. You will probably want to make sure to avoid using the seeds, as they will definitely make the dish hotter. However, if you want to add some heat, I recommend either keeping the seeds in, or using the whole pepper. This image is the brand I typically buy, which you can purchase by clicking on the image, or clicking here.

Smoky Lime Sweet Potatoes and Cilantro Chimichurri

 Print This Post

INGREDIENTS

• 3-4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly cut
• 1/2 small canned chipotle pepper, de-seeded and chopped
• 2 tsp. adobo sauce (from the canned chipotle
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• zest of 1 lime
• juice from 1 lime
• salt and pepper

For the Chimichurri:

• 1 bunch cilantro, with the stems removed, reserving only the leaves
• 3-4 Tbsp. olive oil
• 5-6 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper (I would recommend Kosher salt or sea salt, if you have it)

METHOD

1. After peeling and chopping the sweet potatoes, place in a pot of boiling water. Cook covered for about 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Drain the water, but reserve about 1/2 cup of the liquid.

2. While the potatoes are cooking, chop the cilantro and garlic. Mix together the cilantro, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. After they are well combined, set aside.

3. Combine the potatoes, the reserved cooking water, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, lime juice, cumin, lime zest, salt and pepper, and mash or mix well. I usually use a hand mixer for this step.

4. To serve, plate a serving of the mashed sweet potatoes, and top with the chimichurri sauce. While you could mix the chimichurri into the potatoes, I have found that doing so greatly reduces the flavor.

This is a slightly adapted form of this recipe from Camilla Saulsbury.