Description

Grilled Sweet Potatoes. Perfect as a grab and dip appetizer, summer side dish, or in a salad.

Ingredients

Units Scale

3 large sweet potatoes of similar size. Garnet yams are my favorite. (2 1/2 pounds)
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

For The Ginger Tahini Dressing:

1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons roughly chopped ginger root
3 medium cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons Tamari, soy sauce or coconut aminos
1/4 cup water

For The Chipotle Aioli Dip - Recipe and instructions here.

Optional Ingredients For Making Rice Bowls or Salads:

Cooked brown and wild rice or cooked quinoa or a combination (1/3 cup or so per person)
A bunch of scallions, trimmed, brushed with olive oil, grilled for a 3-4 minutes, salted and sliced
One head of broccoli, cut into bite sized florets, blanched and drained (cook florets for 2 minutes or so in boiling water and drain)
Fried or poached eggs (1 per person)

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Instructions

To Make The Grilled Sweet Potatoes: Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Scrub the sweet potatoes, pierce with a fork a few times and set them on your oven rack. Bake them for 40-45 minutes or until they are cooked enough so that if you push your thumb in firmly, you can make an impression. Baking time will differ depending on the size of the potato but you can always adjust later with more or less time on the grill, to get the desired result.
Let the potatoes cool until you can handle them. (At this point you can store the partially cooked sweet potatoes wrapped in foil or plastic in the fridge for up to 24 hours) Slice each potato in half lengthwise, then cut each half into wedges, lengthwise. (6-8 wedges per potato)
Preheat the grill to medium-high. Place the potato wedges, skin-side down, on a large tray or platter. Brush the cut sides generously with olive oil. Arrange them on the hot grill, cut side down, and cook, with the grill cover down, for four to six minutes per side, flipping them over to the other cut side half way through. Leave them to cook until they get nice grill marks and are cooked to your desired consistency. The longer you cook them, the more tender and sweet they will be, with more crisp browned parts.
Let them rest for 5-10 minutes, tented with foil. Serve them warm or at room temperature.
To Make The Ginger Tahini Dressing: Blend all the ingredients together in a blender or small food processor. Add more water, a teaspoon at a time, to thin to desired consistency.

Notes

SERVE THEM AS A SIDE DISH: Dress with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Add onion powder and/or chili powder, if you like.

MAKE GRILLED SWEET POTATO RICE BOWLS: Fill bowls with rice, quinoa, grains or a combo. Add blanched broccoli florets, wilted greens, or grilled scallions. Dress with olive oil, lemon or lime juice, salt and pepper. Add a fried or poached egg, if you like. Drizzle with ginger tahini dressing, if you like.

MAKE A GRILLED SWEET POTATO APPETIZER: Season grilled sweet potatoes with salt and pepper. Serve with chipotle aioli dip.

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 1 hour
Category: Vegetable side dish, main dish, or appetizer
Method: Barbecue
Cuisine: Mediterranean