Smashed Japanese Sweet Potatoes

A new TABLE Magazine favorite for Meatless Monday, these oven-roasted, smashed sweet potatoes are hardly a sacrifice. Veda Sanakaran’s layers of flavors build up from the potato foundation to turmeric and chili and then the umami of crushed sheets of nori and a drizzle of ghee. Unforgettable!

What’s the Difference Between Japanese Sweet Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes?

Even though sweet potatoes and Japanese sweet potatoes are both root vegetables, that’s about where the similarities end for these two. Standard orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, the kind most common in the U.S., are known for their very sweet, moist, and soft texture when cooked, often with a subtle, earthy flavor. Japanese sweet potatoes, on the other hand, have a purplish-red skin but a creamy white, starchy flesh. Their flavor is less sugary and more like roasted chestnuts. The texture is also more dry, dense, and flaky.

Smashed Japanese Sweet Potatoes

---

• Author: Veda Sankaran

Print Recipe

Description

Ditch the American sweet potatoes and indulge in something more exotic.

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 6 Japanese sweet potatoes (also known as Murasaki)
• Nonstick cooking oil spray
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp ghee, melted
• 1 tbsp butter
• Turmeric
• Burlap & Barrel Icelandic sea kelp or crushed nori
• Burlap & Barrel silk chili or Aleppo chili flakes

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut off the ends of the sweet potatoes and discard. Then, cut the potatoes into thirds and boil for approximately 20 minutes or until a knife can be inserted easily.
3. Drain in a colander and let sit for 5 minutes before placing on baking sheets that have been sprayed with nonstick cooking oil spray.
4. Use the flat side of a meat tenderizer or a potato masher to carefully flatten each piece. Sometimes facing the skin side up will make it easier to smash the potato. Leave the skins on, as they will crisp and taste delicious.
5. Let the smashed potatoes sit for at least 10 more minutes on the baking sheets before generously drizzling with the melted ghee and olive oil. This will help the crisp. Then sprinkle on the spices. If using nori, crush it to a powder before sprinkling on the potatoes.
6. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then dab the tops of the potatoes with the butter and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until the sweet potatoes become crispy.

Notes

This recipe doesn’t call for salt as the Icelandic sea kelp or the nori provides the saltiness. But you can garnish with a light sprinkling of a finishing salt like Maldon sea salt or Spanish black sea salt if you’d like.

Recipe by Veda Sankaran
Styling by Keith Recker
Photography by Dave Bryce
White Plate by Revol 
Blue Plates by Jono Pandolfi

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine’s print edition.