Sweet potatoes made savory for the holidays – without marshmallows, brown sugar, or pecans. Instead, a simple brush with olive oil, butter, seasoned lightly with salt and pepper, then slow baked with shallots and thyme.
I wish I was clever enough to think of this all on my own, but the truth the fine people at Everyday Food made it first with regular white potatoes. I thought that it just might work with sweet potatoes, and though they probably don’t get as crispy as regular white potatoes, they’re slightly crispy on top and still have a deliciously firm bite.
Joe isn’t crazy about sweet potatoes, but I caught him grabbing little slices out of the baking dish and eating them like potato chips. He actually likes them. A lot.
To get the potatoes thin and uniform, I used my mandoline slicer
If you’ve been hanging around here for a while, you know I love sweet potatoes. If you love them, too, you might like my:
- Sweet Morning Potatoes
- Parmesan Crusted Sweet Potato Fries with Light Garlic Aioli
- Sweet Potato Quinoa Cookies
- Gingered Sweet Potatoes (a guest post at The Nourishing Gourmet)
Reminder:
Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten-Free has a new host this month – Stephanie of Gluten Free by Nature. The fitting theme is Holiday Cookies. If you want to be included in this round up, send your link and to Stephanie via the contact tab on her blog by December 27th.
This post is linked to Finer Things Friday.
Ingredients
- 2 – 3 medium sweet potatoes, about 2 pounds
- 1 tablespoon good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 1 shallot, peeled and sliced thickly
- kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- 3 -4 sprigs of fresh thyme
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Peel potatoes and slice them into uniform, thin slices with a very sharp chef’s knife or a mandoline slicer. Keep the potatoes together as you slice them so it’s easier to arrange them in a dish. (Make sure you have enough sliced potatoes to fill your chosen baking dish. A shallow, smaller dish about the height of your potatoes works best. My baking dish was about 1 quart, maybe a little smaller.)
- Combine melted butter and olive oil. Use a pastry brush to coat the inside of a 1 quart baking dish with the mixture. Reserve remaining olive oil and butter for topping potatoes. Put shallot slices into the open spaces in the potatoes. Brush with remaining butter and olive oil. Sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Bake for 1 1/4 hours. Add thyme and bake for another hour or until the tops of the potatoes are browned and crispy and the potatoes are baked through.
Lauren
posted on December 17, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Oh my gosh. I am the biggest fan of sweet potatoes, and these ones look so fresh and delicious =D.
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Jessica Meyer
posted on December 18, 2009 at 1:12 am
Amy, these look fantastic. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
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cdecocina
posted on December 18, 2009 at 7:08 am
I love your blog. I write a blog about the Seignalet diet, which is about no cereals (except rice), no refined sugars and no dairy. I love your recipes, all of them are so inspirational.
I think that what we eat is usually what causes most health problems. This blog is a good way to show a different way of cooking.
Greetings from Barcelona!
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gfe--gluten free easily
posted on December 18, 2009 at 7:25 am
Those look fantastic! And, I’m going to make them … this weekend for sure. I have some sweet potatoes and had planned a dish for the support group that I didn’t get to try. It’s not one I’d make for myself alone, so this recipe it is! Mr. GFE is like Joe. He won’t touch a sweet potato, but he loves the sweet potato chips, so I’m hopeful, he’ll like this recipe.
Thanks, Amy!
Shirley
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Alta (Tasty Eats At Home)
posted on December 18, 2009 at 7:36 am
Cool idea! Which has me thinking, I make hasselback potatoes, I wonder if sweet potatoes would work well there too!
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Michelle
posted on December 18, 2009 at 8:37 am
Hi Amy, I never thought to do it this way! We usually put them flat on a baking sheet, but they get too done before they get crispy.
Do the bottoms get at all crispy, or is it just the tops?
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Amy Reply:
December 18th, 2009 at 9:03 am
@Michelle, The tops get as crispy as sweet potatoes can and the bottoms have a nice bite to them – not a mushy bite like they have when you bake them with the skins on.
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Jenn AKA The Leftover Queen
posted on December 18, 2009 at 11:26 am
I ADORE roasted sweet potatoes. We enjoy them at least once a week in our house! Your photo is beautiful!
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Shelly
posted on December 18, 2009 at 1:58 pm
I was going to say – looks like it’ll taste exactly like potato chips! But even better because they’re 100% homemade and well seasoned. Plus they come out of the oven so minimal grease. Awesome!
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Amy Reply:
December 18th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
@Shelly, Just FYI – they get crispy on the top but not all of the way through.
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Simply Life
posted on December 18, 2009 at 2:20 pm
oh yum! I’ve never had potatoes like that before but they look wonderful!!!
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Wardeh @ GNOWFGLINS
posted on December 18, 2009 at 3:43 pm
That’s a sign of a true keeper recipe – when the one who hates the food is sneaking bits of it!
It really looks awesome, especially the crisp parts. My husband would love it.
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Natasha - 5 Star Foodie
posted on December 18, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Perfect! Just the thing I was looking for to do with my sweet potatoes this weekend!
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Kristi Rimkus
posted on December 19, 2009 at 10:29 am
I love sweet potatoes and hate the recipe with the marshmallows. Thanks for the recipe!
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Karen Reply:
November 23rd, 2012 at 10:53 am
@Kristi Rimkus, My husband and I were saying the same thing! All that brown sugar and marshmallows, why not just make a sweet potato pie, if that’s how it’s going to be served?? This recipe rocks!
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Amy Reply:
November 24th, 2012 at 3:38 pm
@Karen, I’m with you, Karen!! How do you typically make sweet potatoes for the holidays?
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Catalina
posted on December 19, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Wow! Don’t those look yummy?!
Yum yum!
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MaryMoh
posted on December 20, 2009 at 1:18 am
Mmmm….looks very delicious. I love sweet potatoes. This looks perfect for me.
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Anne
posted on December 23, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Just the other day my mother talked about a recipe similar to this and how they are a great alternative to potatoe chips, and then I see your lovely recipe!! I must make these
Thank you for posting this one!
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cathi
posted on November 22, 2012 at 9:03 pm
We made these for Thanksgiving dinner today. Wow! They were the best sweet potatoes my family has ever had. Cooked them on the grill in a tin foil pan! Perfection! Thanks Amy!
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Amy Reply:
November 24th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
@cathi, Thanks, Cathi! I am so glad it turned out well. The grill is a smart way to go. I bet they had great smoky flavor.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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Karen
posted on November 23, 2012 at 10:52 am
I made two pans of these for Thanksgiving….. I didn’t have any thyme, but otherwise followed the recipe….. I got a LOT of compliments on them, and there wasn’t even a crumb left! That means a lot when our crowd is usually 70+ people!
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Amy Reply:
November 24th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
@Karen, Oh my gosh! That is so incredible! I love these sweet potatoes….you must be one heck of a cook. Did you do all the cooking yourself?
Hugs,
Amy
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Karen Reply:
November 27th, 2012 at 7:49 am
@Amy, No way! My Aunt hosts this at her house every year, and she cooks 4 birds…. everyone pitches in with side dishes and desserts. I made two big trays of these fabulous Sweet Potatoes (which got A LOT of compliments! And whoever made the sweet potatoes smothered in brown sugar and marshmallows is mighty-upset, they got passed over for this much healthier dish!) I made your fig/chocolate orange pinwheel cookies for the allergy folks…. and lemon/lime pinwheel cookies for the kiddos
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Laurie
posted on November 26, 2012 at 10:29 am
This looks great, but I am trying to figure out how you can cut them on a mandalin without going through the entire potato?? What am I missing?
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