Roasted Spiced Sweet Potatoes and Classic Creamy Coleslaw

Last night we had burgers.  I'm not going to tell you about them though, this is all about the sides. Truth be told, they were store bought veggie burgers and you really don't want to know about them anyway.

I always make these two side dishes together.  They are perfectly good on there own, classic coleslaw and deeply flavourful roasted sweet potato wedges.  But something about the creamy, tangy coleslaw with it's sharp green onions, when mixed with the spicy, sweet potato wedges, is magical.

For me, the coleslaw actually goes on top of my burger with BBQ sauce, it doesn't even hit the plate (until it starts dribbling down my chin).  The amazingly good sweet potato wedges mop up the juices and it's a great dinner.  But the whole point of making burgers on a cold November evening is so that I can make these side dishes and bring the leftovers (burger free) to work for lunch.  I'm telling you, they are a match made in heaven.

 

Roasted Spiced Sweet Potatoes
Origin: Gourmet Magazine

Notes:  These are my favorite roasted sweet potatoes.  The mixture of spices is perfect, I love the addition of fennel seed.  I always make at least 5 times the amount of spice mixture (as much as I can fit in my spice grinder) and keep it in a small glass container so I can make these on a whim.  Once the spices are ground, this recipe takes about 5 minutes of hands on time.  Double the recipe for leftovers!  And you don't HAVE to make the coleslaw too, they are good enough to hold their own.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 lb medium sweet potatoes, washed (skin on), cut lengthwise into 1 inch wedges
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees (increase to 450 at any point if they are not browning enough).

Coarsely grind coriander, fennel, oregano, and red pepper flakes in an electric coffee/spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Stir together spices and salt. 

Toss wedges with oil and spices (I add another 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the sweet potatoes at this point) in a large roasting pan and roast in middle of oven for 20 minutes. Turn wedges over with a spatula and roast until tender and golden, 15 to 20 minutes more.

Classic Creamy Coleslaw
Origin: Impeccable Taste, Jaime


Notes:  For ease of preparation,  I often buy 2 bags of coleslaw mix and just add freshly grated carrots and sliced green onions.

Ingredients:

Salad
6 cups green cabbage, thinly sliced/shredded
1 cup red cabbage, thinly sliced/shredded
1 cup carrot, coarsely grated
1 cup green onions/scallions, thinly sliced

Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise (I use Hellman's half fat mayo)
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons celery seed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Combine cabbage, carrot and onion in a large bowl.

In a small bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients.  Taste and adjust to your liking.  Add a little more sugar or more mayo if it's too tangy/vinegary.

Pour the dressing over the prepared vegetables and mix well.  It's best if it can sit for an hour before serving.