Grilled Sweet Potatoes with a Garlic Chipotle Dip
When making grilled potatoes, grilled sweet potatoes come out very well. The tanginess and piquancy of the garlic chipotle dip served with this grilled potatoes recipe really complements the sweetness of the potatoes themselves.
You can make grilled red potatoes or grilled roasted potatoes recipes if you prefer because potatoes cook well over any heat source but sweet potatoes are extra special.
When is the last time you bought some?
A lot of home cooks grab regular potatoes in the store, almost on autopilot, and do not think about changing it up and using sweet potatoes instead. The next time you are out shopping buy some, because they are versatile and so good, especially when barbecued.
This recipe has you grilling the garlic first of all and then squeezing the garlic flesh from the cloves. If you have never roasted or cooked garlic in this way before you will be surprised how easy the garlic slides out.
Peeling raw garlic can be tricky but roast it and it suddenly becomes not only flavorful and tender but much easier to work with. The garlic is then combined with mayonnaise and chipotle chili.
The reason for using chipotle chili is that chipotle is a smoke-dried jalapeño or similar pepper, which is widely used in Mexican cooking, and it goes stunningly well with the garlic and mayonnaise to give this sauce an authentic Mexican flavor.
The sweet potatoes are smothered in oil to keep the moisture in and then flavored with steak seasoning. When they have been prepared in this way it is time to pop them on the barbeque where they should become tender in just under 10 minutes. Serve them with the garlic chipotle mayonnaise you already prepared.
So what else do these barbequed sweet potatoes go with?
Since they have a Mexican flavor, especially when paired with the sauce, it is a good idea to keep the south of the border theme for the whole meal, perhaps cooking some marinated skirt steak on the grill or how about some chicken legs or wings?
A tossed green salad is always a great side dish because it goes with so many things or you could try a Mexican salad. Layered salads are always fun and you can enjoy making the different layers in a clear glass or plastic bowl.
Such a salad could have an iceberg lettuce base and then for the other layers, try grated cheese, refried beans, sliced avocado, green peas, cucumber, tomatoes and anything else you want.
If you are only serving the layered salad and the sweet potatoes, then add a layer of cooked ground beef on top followed by a layer of grated cheese and a dollop of sour cream. If you already have another meat or fish element to the meal planned then leave the meat out of the salad and keep it lighter.
Since the sweet potatoes are, by definition, sweet, make whatever you are serving with them savory, to keep that nice contrast. The only course which should be sweet from beginning to end is dessert.
Grilled Sweet Potatoes with a Garlic Chipotle Dip
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 4 medium sweet potatoes cut lengthwise into wedges
- 2 unpeeled garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons steak seasoning
- 2 tablespoons chipotle chili in adobo finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to medium hot.
- Wrap the garlic in foil and grill it for 12 minutes, turning once. Peel and smash the cloves. Mix the garlic, chipotle, and mayonnaise in a bowl.
- Coat the sweet potatoes with oil and sprinkle on the steak seasoning.
- Grill the potato wedges for 8 minutes or until tender and golden brown, turning them once.
- Serve the potatoes with the garlic chipotle mayonnaise.
If you are only serving the layered salad and the sweet potatoes, then add a layer of cooked ground beef on top followed by a layer of grated cheese and a dollop of sour cream. If you already have another meat or fish element to the meal planned then leave the meat out of the salad and keep it lighter.
Since the sweet potatoes are, by definition, sweet, make whatever you are serving with them savory, to keep that nice contrast. The only course which should be sweet from beginning to end is dessert.