Roasted Rosemary Sweet Potatoes
Have you ever roasted vegetables? If not, your life is about to change.
I’m going to tell you a secret- I rarely use recipes when I am cooking. Like, pretty much never. Instead, I learn a cooking technique and then make it a ton of times using the same method with different ingredients and flavor variations. Like my easy quiche guide.
About eight years ago, my husband took an online cooking class and was taught how to roast vegetables. Up until that point, neither of us had ever roasted vegetables before and oh my goodness…life changer. Since then, we eat some variation of roasted vegetables at least once a week.
During this time of year, we only have a few herbs in our garden. Our rosemary plants are still hanging on, but I am not sure they will last much longer as the temperatures drop.
Roasting vegetables is very easy. Chopping the vegetables is the most difficult part. Really, the oven does all of the work. Roasted vegetables are warm, hardy, and just perfect for the winter months. One of the best roasted vegetable flavor combinations is Roasted Rosemary Sweet Potatoes. After you try it, I guarantee you will be hooked. And everyone will bow to your culinary genius.
Ingredients
-
2 sweet potatoes cubed
-
2 tablespoons of avocado oil
-
3 garlic cloves or garlic powder
-
Salt, pepper, smoked paprika
-
3 sprigs of rosemary
Method
Preheat the oven to 400° F. While the oven is preheating, wash the sweet potatoes and pat them dry. You are going to leave the skin on the potatoes. Next, cube the potatoes. I recommend slicing the potatoes in ½ inch slices and then chopping into cubes. The roasting time will vary if your cubes are larger than ½ inch.
Place cubed sweet potatoes into a mixing bowl. Once all of the sweet potatoes are in the bowl, add the avocado oil. Stir the potatoes so they are all coated in the oil.
Ok, I am going to go on a little tangent here, but this is really important if you are new to roasting vegetables. All oils have a smoke point. Basically, the smoke point is the point when an oil stops simmering and starts smoking. When you are roasting vegetables, you need to use an oil (like avocado oil) that has a higher smoke point. If you only have Extra Virgin Olive Oil in your pantry…do not fear. You can still make these delicious sweet potatoes, but you will have to reduce your oven temperature to 350° F. This is really important, because if an oil exceeds its smoke point, your food will taste really bitter and burnt.
Next, add the garlic cloves OR garlic powder. When I am using fresh garlic cloves, I keep them whole. That way, our kids can avoid them, but the potatoes still have the garlic flavor.
Then add salt, pepper, and paprika to taste. You can always add more salt after the potatoes are done roasting. Stir everything together so the seasoning is evenly distributed.
Finally, add the rosemary sprigs. You can keep them whole or cut them in half. Give the contents of the bowl one more stir.
Then pour the contents on to a parchment paper lined baking sheet or a casserole dish. (The parchment paper lined baking sheet will be 1000x easier to clean up.)
Roast for 15 minutes, flip the potatoes so the bottoms don’t get too dark, and then roast for 15 more minutes.
The potatoes are done when the edges are golden brown and the centers are soft. I always like to add a little more sea salt to the sweet potatoes before they are served.
More Ideas
Roasting vegetables is easy and so versatile. After you make these Roasted Rosemary Sweet Potatoes, you are going to be able to make so many variations using this as a guide.
You can experiment with the way you slice the potatoes and the seasonings. You can also experiment with other vegetables- carrots, parsnips, beets, red peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, zucchini, and all of the other squashes. They are great side dishes and equally delicious on a bed of greens with a hard boiled egg and goat cheese. Really the possibilities are endless.
Time around the table helps all families grow. Whatever seasonal ingredients you choose, I am confident your family will enjoy all of your roasted veggie creations.
