Sweet Potato Wedges with Lemon-Herb Vinaigrette

May 25, 2014 by Laura Haugen 19 Comments

These sweet potato spears are seriously addictive, and I’ve made a quick meal of them on a couple occasions this week. If you know me, you know I like to douse my food in lemon and herbs, and that’s basically what I’ve done to these. Seared on a grill pan to get a smoky char then steamed to cook through and soften, the sweet potatoes soak in the flavors of the lemon, chive & thyme vinaigrette then get an extra punch from grilled shallots and a touch of saltiness from crumbled feta. They’re fancy enough as a side dish for a dinner but totally fit for finger food. Hope everyone’s having a great weekend!

Sweet Potato Wedges with Lemon-Herb Vinaigrette

• Servings: 2-4
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

• 2 medium-size sweet potatoes
• olive oil for coating & cooking
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 shallot
• 2 to 3 Tbs. crumbled feta

Vinaigrette:

• 1/2 tsp lemon zest and 2 Tbs. lemon juice (from about half a lemon)
• 2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper
• about 6 chives, finely chopped
• a few fresh thyme leaves

Directions:

1. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them in half. Lay them flat and cut at an angle into thin wedges roughly the same size, about 8 long wedges per potato. Toss in a bowl with some olive oil  and a sprinkling of fine sea salt to coat evenly. Peel and chop the shallot into thin rings and set aside.
2. Mix the vinaigrette: combine lemon zest and juice and whisk in the olive oil to emulsify. Season with some freshly ground pepper (and salt if desired) and add the herbs, then stir together.
3. Heat a ridged grill pan over medium high heat and add a bit of olive oil; swirl to coat the pan. When pan is hot, add the sweet potato wedges in batches so that they are spread apart and can lie flat in one layer. Sear each side for 3 or 4 minutes, flipping to get striped char marks on every side. Remove the spears when charred on all sides to a bowl while the next batches get seared. In the last batch, add the shallot rings and char those up. Return all the sweet potatoes to the pan, along with the shallots and carefully add 1/4 cup water, using a lid to shield yourself from any splatters as you do so. Cover and let the sweet potatoes & shallots steam for a good 4 to 5 minutes, or until fork tender but still hold their shape and are not easily mashable. Remove the lid and raise the heat, letting the liquid cook off for a couple more minutes.
4. Transfer the sweet potatoes and shallots to a plate. Season with extra black pepper and sea salt if necessary (keep in mind the feta will add a good amount of saltiness).  Pour the vinaigrette over the middle and crumble the feta over the top.

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