Spicy Caramelized Yams Wedges.
Sometimes even the best cookbooks say things that make the home cook laugh out loud. And while we really like this recipe and the cookbook it came from, this recipe has an instruction that’s one of the silliest we have ever seen, “be sure to choose yams of even thickness from end to end”. (Oh, and please go find Bigfoot while you’re at it.) We have yet to find an evenly shaped yam, and don’t expect to any time soon, neither should you. But happily, this is a delicious recipe and is pretty good for you, too. So even if you can’t find a perfectly shaped yam, this recipe is worth making.
And by “yam” we really mean the orange, soft sweet potatoes of the United States. The true yam is an African crop, usually with lighter colored flesh (here is a good link to explain the differences and terminology). But for whatever reason, we call some sweet potatoes “yams” and so does this recipe. Go figure (or don’t, this stuff can make your head hurt). But meanwhile, look for large, orange-fleshed yams / sweet potatoes at your grocery store or farmer’s market. Yams are cheap, nutritious and versatile. And their sweet flavor is a good way to sneak some extra veggies into your kids.
This recipe is adapted from “Ripe, A Fresh, Colorful Approach to Fruits and Vegetables” from Cheryl Sternman Rule. And the recipe is a real winner, and quite easy to make. You simply peel and slice the yams, make a paste of salt, pepper, brown sugar, chili powder and oil, coat the yam slices and bake in the oven for an hour, flipping them over halfway. But the recipe does have one more (albeit smaller) laugher, when it says, “cook all the yams for an hour, don’t pull them out earlier”. And we guess if we had “even-thickness” yams, that advice might work. But we don’t, so the smaller pieces need to come out of the oven a bit early, and not burn.
But this slight bit of extra effort is worth it. The sweetness of the caramelized yams goes very well with the salt and chili powder (a pinch of Cayenne also works, if you like some heat), and the texture is crunchy / chewy on the outside but soft and creamy on the inside. And if you add a touch of butter, it certainly wouldn’t hurt. These yams are a tasty snack on their own, or a very good side with chicken or pork. If you don’t like yams from all those yam / marshmallow dishes at Thanksgiving, give this recipe a try, it may change your mind. Just don’t spend too much time looking for those “evenly shaped” yams… 😉
Spicy Caramelized Yam Wedges:
(Adapted from Cheryl Sternman Rule)
What You Get: A easy, tasty yam dish with extra flavor and texture.
What You Need: A few baking sheets, no other special equipment required.
How Long? About and hour and fifteen minutes, with about ten minutes of active time. With a little planning, an “anytime” dish.
Ingredients:
(Serves 6-8)
- 4 large yams, about 3 -4 pounds total, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch thick half-circles
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Sweet butter
- Parsley, for garnish (optional)
Assemble:
- Place rack(s) in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and slice the yams into 1/2 inch thick half-circles (keep the smaller pieces in circles).
- Combine the salt, sugar, pepper, chili powder, cayenne (if using) and oil in a bowl. Stir until combined.
- Place the yams and spice mixture in a large bowl and toss until all the yam slices are evenly coated. Arrange the yam slices on a baking sheet and place in the oven.
- After 30 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven and flip-over each yam piece. Return to the oven and cook for another 30 minutes. (Remove smaller yam pieces after 20 minutes or when they brown and start to shrink slightly). Remove the baking sheets from the oven. Serve the yams while hot, add butter, salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with a few sprigs or parsley, if you like.
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Putney Farm 
And perfect for Halloween! Mmmm…
Thanks!
I’ll get right on that finding of yams that are even from end to end…. expect a report back sometime within the next ten years.
We eat a crap ton of oven-roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips, onions, you name it. And I agree, some of the best batches are the ones flavored with chili powder!
Too funny…and it may take longer than 10 years…
We like the chili power with root veggies, we used to use more provencal herbs, but the chili powder is a nice change…
Chiming in here- chili powder on sweet potatoes/yams is divine! It adds a heat that really brings out the natural sweetness of the vegetable. Yum. These wedges look so good- can’t wait to add them to my regular mix of sweet potato recipes!
Thanks! Hope you enjoy them. They are a great, easy dish…
I love roasted sweet potatoes, but don’t eat them often enough.
Think I’d call them sweet potato slices rather than yam wedges 😉
😉 Like we said, call them what you want…
Mouth is watering. Will definitely be making these soon. YUM!
Thanks!
Bookmarked! These sound delicious. And you’re right, my farm share provides tasty sweet potatoes but boy are they not . . . . attractive. Thanks!
Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Hope you enjoy the recipe…and they do look better cooked!
An even thickness…that would definitely take quite a search to find. I think spicy seasonings go so well with the potatoes.
Thanks…we will continue our hunt for the elusive “evenly shaped” yam..
They look yummy! oh, and I can see Italian oil in one of the pics… 🙂
Indeed…
Ha! Even shaped yam… Well that aside, sweet potatoes are one of my top favorite starches! I always make a sweet potato dish for thanksgiving, per request of my dad who loves my cooking! This is a quick & easy dish with marvelous tasty results! Thank you for sharing… and for the little laugh!
~ Jen
Thanks for the visit…sweet potatoes are a great starch..happily our kids like them…
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you posted this cuz I’m ciookng a holiday dinner at a women and children’s homeless shelter and I wasn’t sure how to properly season sweet potatoes.I’m actually 49 and have been a chef and foodie for most of my life but I guess the part of the south I’m from was not big on sweet potatoes.My mother and grandmother were big on the cabbage sauteed in bacon grease and the southern green beans like you posted but sometimes they would add cut up potatoes to that and of course the collards.I’m going to make this (the candied yams) for the women at the shelter for thanksgiving cuz I know from past experience that I can trust your recipes.In the future, maybe from you or grandma, how bout a sausage gravy biscuit breakfast recipe?I actually can make it really good, sage is the key, but my grandmother used to make it the best, it was dark and spicy and I was wondering if you know maybe how she made it that way.Love ya
Thanks, hope you enjoy the recipe, it is a great dish for a big group… and yo may see a sausage gravy recipe this winter…
Never heard about Yams – first I thought it was Sweet Potatoes, but with google-help I found out that it’s a root. Neither have I heard about sweet butter – you have some wired things over there – but I think I can use sweet potatoes for this one. Lover oven baked sweet potatoes. Sweet butter I have to replace with unsalted. Thanks for this one.
Hi- sweet butter is just unsalted butter (sorry) and you should use sweet potatoes. In the states we have some odd terminology for Yams and sweet potatoes- there is no real agreement on what is what…
Strange because … when I googled – they didn’t say it was sweet potatoes – glad my eye sight is still okay.
Thanks for making everything clear to me. Sweet butter I thought was one of the those wired products you have over there.