This recipe is an ode to my sweet friend Rose. She is a marvelous cook and first shared this recipe with me a while back. It is insanely good and with sweet potato being one of my all-time favourite foods, I had to recreate this recipe and share it with you guys. The secret to a gooey sticky sweet potato is too let it roast as long as possible to get the crunchy edges and to let its natural sugars caramelized. Ten minutes before you remove it from the oven, drizzle with some olive oil and let them roast a little more. Don't make your wedges too small or the bulk of them might burn. This is an amazing recipe for any dinner table and although it is a side, everyone will treat it as the main affair!
Serves 5 as a side
Ingredients:
- 1kg sweet potato washed and cut into wedges.
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- wax paper
- salt and pepper
- 1 bunch parsley
- juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 90 grams walnuts
- 1 garlic clove
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- Maldon salt for serving
Instructions:
Preheat oven 180°C.
Place the cut sweet potato into a large bowl along with the coconut oil. Toss until evenly covered. Line a large roasting tray with wax paper. Line the wedges up on the tray skin side down and season with salt and pepper. Pop them into the oven and roast for an hour and 10 minutes. Turning them at the 45 minutes. 10-15 minutes before they are ready, drizzle them with some olive oil and let them finish up roasting.
Meanwhile, in a food processor add the parsley, lemon juice, walnuts, garlic and olive oil. Blend until you reach a smooth creamy consistency. Season to taste and fold through the lemon zest.
Once the sweet potatoes are golden brown (I like my edges crunchy) remove from the oven. Add a few dollops of pesto to the wedges and toss the wedges gently until evenly covered.
Add to your serving bowl, sprinkle with Maldon salt and serve hot!
Merry Christmas
-Melissa