Once, a friend who grew up in Idaho insisted that she could happily subsist on nothing but potatoes. She spent the following fifteen minutes lovingly detailing the many different ways you can prepare potatoes. While I respected her zealous love of the common spud, and was brought up eating a lot of potatoes myself (though largely of the instant variety), I’m not really one to get out of bed for potatoes soaked in oil and salt. No offense to home fries or extreme potato enthusiasts, but I like it when there’s a little more going on flavor-wise.These jazzed-up sweet potato home fries, however, really do it for me. This dish was a totally happy kitchen accident; at the time, I definitely didn’t know the difference between table salt and sea salt, and actually probably spent a good amount of time muttering under my breath cursing loudly about salt-fetishist foodies.
Three ingredients make this dish. First, the sweet smoked paprika, though not always easy to come by, is essential. Regular paprika is usually pretty mild and, to me, uninteresting. With its bright but woodsy flavor, sweet smoked paprika is kind of magical — it’s definitely a special spice to have up your sleeve. Coarse salt is the second key ingredient here — while some of it dissolves, you should still get a bit of satisfying crystalline crunch here and there that is something close to heavenly. And the cilantro … do I really have to explain that? It pairs so well with the smoked paprika and sweet potato.
- 2 Tbsp peanut oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, chopped
- 1 tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika
- 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
- 1 tsp coarse salt
- In a cast-iron skillet, fry onion in 1 Tbsp oil until translucent.
- Stir in garlic and fry another 30 seconds.
- Transfer to a heat-proof bowl and set aside.
- Place potatoes in a large saucepan with about a half inch of water over high heat.
- When water comes to a boil, drain potatoes in a colander. Potatoes will be partially cooked.
- In cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, fry potatoes in a single layer in remaining oil until bottoms are browned.
- Flip potatoes and brown the other sides in the same manner.
- When potatoes are nicely browned and fully cooked through, add onions, garlic and paprika and heat for another minute.
- Turn off heat, sprinkle with salt and cilantro, and toss.
- Serve immediately, with sriracha or ketchup if you're so inclined.
7 comments
FoodFeud says:
Oct 15, 2012
Sounds great. Smoked paprika makes almost anything delicious. I like that these are sweet potatoes rather than regular. Plain potatoes are fine but sweet are more fun. I have a hard time getting them to brown, though. maybe the boiling does that?
Laura says:
Oct 15, 2012
MMM…I AM one to get out of bed for potatoes soaked in oil and salt, so these look extra-good to me.
claryn says:
Oct 15, 2012
Haha, no disrespect!
Ruth Anne says:
Nov 16, 2012
Yum..I will be trying these! I think the cilantro is a great addition to the sweet potato flavor:)
Tacy says:
Jan 19, 2013
We just made these to accompany the Vegan Crab Cakes (and to maybe share in some of the dipping glory that is vegan tarter sauce)! They are SOOOOO tasty! We actually sent the ‘taters (alone) in to the oven in a single layer after par-boiling. They were in there 25 minutes at 425. Then we tossed them with the well-browned onions, garlic and spices. To DIE for!
claryn says:
Jan 21, 2013
I want to go to your house for dinner. That is totally my kind of meal!
Chris says:
Feb 25, 2013
I really like these, they turned out great! I added a green bell pepper and sweet peppers to go with the onion and a bunch of spinach towards the end.