You have probably seen recipes for Crash Hot Potatoes, using regular red or white potatoes [I have a version of my own I will be sharing at some point], but these are a little different. I had a couple sweet potatoes I needed to use up and they were getting a little on the aged side. So I thought of cooking them like this, since as they age, sweet potatoes tend to get a little drier inside and that is a good thing when you are trying to get a little crunchiness on the outside of something. I’ll give you some tips for using fresher ones in a minute.
Peel two medium sweet potatoes and slice – these are about an inch and a half thick.
Put 1/2 teaspoon of salt in 2 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and set the timer for 10 minutes – time from when you put the potatoes in, not from when the water starts to boil.
These ended up taking about 12 minutes, though I pulled out a couple that were just a touch thinner a couple minutes sooner than that. You want them to be somewhat soft but not cooked through. Let them cool off for 10 or 15 minutes – they will hold together a little better for the next step.
I wanted these to be hot in more than just the temperature – to my way of thinking, these were crying out for some nice spicy flavors to complement the sweet flavor of the potatoes. So I mixed up a little heat.
1 & 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon New Mexico chili powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/8 teaspoon granulated garlic
Blend that together really well with a fork, making to sure to get the sugar completely incorporated. Then I added about ten coarse grinds of black pepper and mixed that in too.
Being careful not to squash them too much, flatten each sweet potato disk slightly. I did this right on the parchment paper on my baking sheet, and used a small bowl with a clear bottom, so I could see what I was doing. The potato stuck to the bowl each time, but I just carefully slip a spatula in there and they came right off and stayed together nicely. If they had come apart on me at all, I’d have just pressed them back into a circle on the pan. I drizzled each of them with a mixture of two tablespoon melted butted and two tablespoons olive oil and then sprinkled each one with the spice mixture, pressing it lightly on the surface. I carefully turned them over and coated the other side with the butter/oil and the spices. I roasted them in the oven, set at 375º for about 15 minutes, turned them over and roasted them another 10 minutes, till they had a nice crust on both sides from the caramelization of the sugar and spices.
These were so good that we nearly died right there at the dinner table.
Spicy-sweet and crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside – just amazing.
If I were using fresher potatoes – and normally I would be, since it is unusual for them to sit around very long here – I would skip the parboil and begin roasting them right on the baking sheet from the start, and then when they got soft enough to flatten I would proceed with the rest of the steps. You actually don’t have to flatten them at all of course, but it does provide more surface area and some ruffly sort of edges for getting more crunch on them – worth the bother in my opinion.
Now – go make some!
Printable version here
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What a different take on sweet potatoe? They’re just not for Thanksgiving anymore!
We eat lots of sweet potatoes…will have to try this!
what a cool name and recipe! I’m the only one who eats sweet potatoes in my house…which makes me very sad at times. I usually just bake them or put them in a foil packet on the grill. This doesn’t lend me to being able to experiement to often, but I’ll save this for company!
sounds so delish
i am ALWAYS game for new yam recipies…this one looks amazing thank you!
Good grief Donalyn – that looks fantastic! You are killing me – the have nothing like that in the company cafeteria for lunch today!
I love sweet potatoes and this looks WONDERFUL!
Oh how I love sweet potatos. These look great! I will defineatly try them. Thanks!!
I have tried “Smashed Potatoes” using those red potatoes and they were good…but this looks much, much better…My whole family are sweet potato fans! I have already copied out the recipe!
Sweet potatoes are something I am developing a taste for as I get older. Never liked them as a kid. These look like a great way to get a taste for the delicious side of sweet potatoes!
This looks soooo yummy I can hardly stand it!
I am so trying this this weekend!
These were great! Made them not so spicy…less chili powder, and both DH and I loved them! Will be making these again!
Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmy!
Ok, I have GOT to try these!! Saving this recipe!
I love that combination of spices that you put on top! Sounds incredible!
what a different idea! i love it and will be trying soon. great site, too.
cheers,
*heather*
Umm speechless! I LOVE sweet potatoes and I love crash potatoes… I dont know why I never put two and two together! I love this! I WILL be making this week!! Thanks!!!
I tried this recipe twice..and it was to die for!!! Yum yum yum!!!! Thank you!! Will be doing this very regular!
Holy. I need to make these; I’m on a mission for new sides, and not only do they look good, they have a great name.
Those look amazing. Will be making those with pork chops next week. Thanks!!!
I made these and wasn’t quite sure of the amount of butter and oil to use. Was the 2/2 combo for the entire recipe or for each potato? I was a little confuddled, and they did not crisp up. Help? Everyone gobbled them up anyway….
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Howdy, just made these for lunch and they were delicious! I didn’t have all the spices but they turned out great with just brown sugar, salt, pepper, cayenne, and fresh minced garlic. I also had to boil mine a lot longer–at least 20 minutes until they were squishable. (My sweet potatoes were ancient.) Thanks for the recipe!
Wow, that looks absolutely delicious! Great post, you did such a nice job presenting the pictures too…I am definitely going to have to try that recipe this weekend! Thanks
These look AWESOME! Thanks for the veges-made-yum tips
Thanks again to more recent commenters – so glad you enjoyed this one!
I saved this in my favorites when I first saw it on Food Gawker a few months ago…WOW! So delicious. My husband and I both loved this dish!
Another copy of the potato recipe.
For God’s sake be original in the kitchen people.
SpudMan – though I didn’t get this recipe from anyone else, I am not so arrogant as to imagine that no one else has ever thought of it. And this recipe is all over the place these days – mostly with links leading back to here, though not everyone is polite enough to do so. In any case, different blogs have different readerships, so there is plenty of room for repeats as far as I’m concerned.
I haven’t seen these anywhere yet, but so glad I found your post…these sweet potatoes look and sound amazing! I’ll be trying these and I know my husband will love them too.Thanks!
We love sweet potatoes so I’ll have to try them this way! Thank you!
Brilliant.
You could do more how to make vegetables tastey posts like
crunchy carrots or asparagus or vichy carrots call it how to make vegetables tastey.
then make a book and make loads of money – then say thanks to me when ur interviewed on oprah and martha coz it was my awesome idea lol
YUM! I just fixed these for dinner and they were de-licioius! Thanks.
I love hearing that someone has tried this and enjoyed it – it is a favorite around here, still.
These look absolutely perfect for the incoming fall weather. I have to ask, is there any particular plus to smashing the potatoes (versus cutting thinner slices)? (Besides the ruffly edges.) I didn’t know if it makes a textural difference smashing them.
Emily – the ruffly edges do get nice and crunchy, so to me the smashing is worth it. I also like the hearty slice size you get when you cut them a bit thicker and then flatten them. Please let me know how they come out if you do them another way – I am always interested in seeing how people change stuff up
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They really look very nice, have to make them once!
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Yummmm! I made these for friends today and they were a big hit. Mine were pretty soft and didn’t really crips up, but no parchment paper. I wonder if that made a difference.
Oops, forgot the most important part–Thanks so much for the great recipe!
Thanks Jules – the parchment could make a difference, though it was probably that you might have just needed a touch more oil? Could also be that the potatoes had more moisture than some. In any case, I am glad you liked the result, even if they didn’t quite turn out like mine did
I have a similar version of this using Indian spices and is fried. I think I will try those spices with your prep method. Thanks for the idea.
I “liked” this on STumbleUpon! Yum!
Wow I know this is long past your post but new for me, I can’t wait to try these!~ The look scrumpticious!
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Thanks for this great recipe. I made these to go with grilled pork and these darling gems were gone in a flash!!! My husband told me not to lose the recipe and to make a double batch next time. Thanks again! Mwah!
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