Sweet potatoes are a wonderful winter food and this is a tasty way to get the anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer components of turmeric into the diet. There was a restaurant in Trumansburg, NY that served sweet potato fries with an interesting dip that was made with turmeric and mayo. This is my attempt at reproducing this combination of flavors easily but without the mayo. We have buckets of home-grown sweet potatoes of 3 varieties in our basement. You can use any variety of sweet potato but it is always better to buy organically grown.
3 medium sized sweet potatoes, skinned, halved lengthwise ,and then sliced crosswise into 1/4 inch slices
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, or 1 Tbsp each of coconut oil and olive oil
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. sea salt,
1/4 tsp black pepper
pinch of cayenne, optional
Melt the coconut oil in a medium-sized sauce pot over low heat and add the olive oil. Add the turmeric, cayenne, and salt and black pepper. Take off the heat after 2 minutes of stirring. Stir in the sweet potato slices and continue to stir until the potatoes are well coated. Transfer the potatoes into a shallow baking dish and spread evenly–ideally they are spsread to about 1 layer thick. Roast in a 375 degree F preheated oven. Use a spatula to flip the potatoes after 15 minutes minutes. As soon as the potatoes are lightly browned and tender inside (usually about 20-30 minutes), remove from the oven. Serve immediately. Serves 3-4.
