Sweet Potato in Tomato, Lime and Cardamom Sauce

Serves: 4

Written By Adapted from Ottolenghi’s “Flavor”-Cook’s notes?

This is a show stopping recipe–perfect for entertaining yourself, and your friends.. Tomato, lime, cardamom and cumin make for a beautiful marriage. We make it SOS free by amping up the amount of lime juice and dill, to replace the salt and oil. I promise, it does not sacrifice in deliciousness. Serve with a crunchy salad and you’ll be in heaven! Ottolenghi suggests other options using this flavorful tomato sauce by replacing the sweet potatoes with tofu or chickpeas and served with a side of rice, turning this dish into a meal. Sounds like a grand idea.

Ingredients

For the Sweet Potatoes:

4-5 long, medium sized sweet potatoes, skin on, cut crosswise into 1-inch thick rounds*
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
½ teaspoon. ground cumin
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the Tomato, Lime and Cardamom Sauce:

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 green chiles (such as serrano), finely chopped, discarding seeds for less heat
2 small shallots, finely chopped (¾ cup)
1 (14 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, puréed in a food processor until smooth
1 tablespoon salt free tomato paste
1-½ teaspoons maple syrup
1-½ teaspoons ground black cardamom
1 teaspoons cumin powder

2 limes:

1 lime finely zested to yield 2 teaspoons, then squeezed to yield 2 tablespoons of juice, or more)
1 lime quartered for garnish
1 cup water

To Finish:

1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons finely chopped dill

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500℉, convection. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Bake the Sweet Potatoes:

Place the sliced sweet potatoes in a large bowl, and thoroughly coat them with the maple syrup, cardamom, cumin and ground black pepper. Spread out on the parchment lined baking sheet, cover with another piece of parchment paper then cover tightly with aluminum foil.
Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and top layer of parchment and return to the oven for another 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Check the rounds with a paring knife to see if they are just cooked through, but still have a little give. They will cook more in the tomato sauce.

Make the Sauce:

Place the garlic and chiles into a large sauté pan (12-inches) for which you have a lid, and place on medium heat. Dry sauté, stirring the vegetables to warm through, adding a tablespoon of water to prevent sticking. Stir every now and then for about 8 minutes, lowering the heat as needed so that the garlic doesn’t color. Cook until soft and fragrant, adding more water as needed.
Transfer half the chiles and garlic to a small bowl, leaving the rest in the pan. Add shallots to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, adding more water, if needed to prevent sticking, and stir until soft and translucent. Add the puréed tomatoes, tomato paste, maple syrup, cardamom, cumin and lime zest to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 cup of water and bring to a gentle simmer, then cook for 5 minutes more.
Transfer the sweet potatoes, browned-side up, to the pan of sauce (not all will fit perfectly, just pile them up!). Lower the heat to low, cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes.

To Finish:

Mix the dill and lime juice, plus 1 tablespoon of water to the reserved chile and garlic and drizzle the sauce over the sweet potatoes. Serve with lime wedges on the side.