Moroccan Sweet Potatoes

This simple side dish is one of my all time favorites!
Oh, and did I mention it's amazeballs delish? I'm not kidding it's like a party in your mouth so just try it okay?

I stumbled upon this "Ras-el-hanout"  mixture last year totally by accident...
I will warn you this is yet another "spicy" recipe, a little spicy for some and maybe very spicy to others.


A little history from Wikipedia..

Ras el hanout or Rass el hanout (Arabic: رأس الحانوت raʾs al-ḥānūt [rɑʔs ælħɑːnuːt]) is a spice mix from North Africa. The name is Arabic for "head of the shop" and implies a mixture of the best spices the seller has to offer. Ras el hanout is used in many savory dishes, sometimes rubbed on meat or stirred into rice.

There is no definitive combination of spices that makes up ras el hanout. Each shop, company, or person may have their own blend. The mixture may consist of over a dozen spices. Commonly used ingredients includecardamom, clove, cinnamon, ground chili peppers, coriander, cumin, peppercorn, paprika, fenugreek, andturmeric. Some spices may be particular to the region, such as ash berries, chufa, grains of paradise, orris root,monk's pepper, cubebs, or dried rosebud. Ingredients may be toasted before being ground and mixed together.

In the past, ras el hanout sometimes included cantharides in its ingredients, for its aphrodisiac properties, but the sale of cantharides was banned in Morocco in the 1990s.^[1]

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into small squares like this:

I was pressed for time so I boiled the sweet potatoes for about 5 minutes before putting them in the oven.

After cooking, make sure to DRAIN WELL and put in a large bowl and toss with about 1/4 cup Olive Oil and add salt, pepper and the Moroccan seasoning.

 I also added in some sauteed onions and shallots..(not in picture)

Here is the brand I used but feel free to make your own concoction which is what I plan on doing after I use up this bottle!

Transfer the sweet potatoes to a greased baking sheet (I use bacon grease) and cook for 30 minutes at 400 degrees..

I served these potatoes with Lamb Chops and sauteed Spinach this particular evening, I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients-

4 large Organic White Sweet Potatoes

1/4 cup Olive Oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon Moroccan Seasoning (Ras-el-hanout)

1 organic shallot (finely chopped)

1 small onion (finely chopped)

Enjoy!

Sandy V.