From CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE and THE GREAT ESCAPE
LUCY’S MAPLE-LEMON SWEET POTATOES
ORIGINAL RECIPE: (See Lucy’s alterations below)
- 2 lbs. sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1″ X 2″ chunks
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 Tsp. kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Toss sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper in baking dish.
3. Cook until almost tender, 25 – 30 minutes.
4. Whisk syrup and lemon in small bowl
5. Remove potatoes from oven and drizzle 1/2 maple-lemon mixture over potatoes.
6. Stir gently, return to oven, bake additional 10 – 15 minutes until potatoes are tender.
7. Remove from oven, drizzle with remaining maple-lemon mixture, and serve.
ALTERATIONS:
1. Since Lucy has no idea what 2 lbs. of sweet potatoes look, she is calculating half a sweet potato per person.
2. She mixes sweet potatoes, olive oil, salt, and pepper in mixing bowl then transfers into a foil lined baking dish—using a large enough dish so the chunks aren’t on top of each other. (easy clean up)
3. She varies the quantity of the maple/sugar lemon juice mix according to how many potatoes she’s made. AND—important!—she goes heavier on lemon juice than maple syrup. Maybe 2-1, maybe not quite that much. BUT…the lemon juice is the key to bringing out the sweetness of the maple syrup and potatoes.