Sweet Potato in Tomato, Lime, and Cardamom Sauce

This is now one of our favorites. Also from Ottolenghi’s Flavor book.

Ingredients

• 4-5 medium sweet potatoes, skin on, cut widthwise into 1-inch/2½cm-thick rounds (2 lb-2 oz/1kg)
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 4½ tsp maple syrup
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• table salt and black pepper

TOMATO, LIME, AND CARDAMOM SAUCE

• 5 tbsp/75ml olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped (not crushed)
• 2 green chiles, finely chopped (seeded for less heat)
• table salt
• 2 small shallots, finely chopped (¾ cup/100g)
• 1 x 14-oz/400g can whole, peeled tomatoes, blitzed in a food processor or blender until smooth
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1½ tsp superfine sugar
• 1½ tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 limes: finely zest to get 1 tsp, then juice to get 1 tbsp; cut the remainder into wedges
• 1 cup/240ml water
• 2 tsp finely chopped dill

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 500°F/240°C fan. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix the sweet potatoes with the olive oil, maple syrup, cardamom, cumin, ½ tsp salt, and a good grind of pepper. Spread out on the prepared baking sheet, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and return to the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the rounds are cooked through and the undersides are very nicely browned (this might take longer if your sweet potato rounds are particularly large, or indeed less time if they are smaller, so do keep an eye on them).
3. For the sauce: Meanwhile, put the olive oil, garlic, chiles, and ⅛ tsp salt into a large sauté pan, for which you have a lid, and place on medium heat. Fry very gently for 8-10 minutes, stirring every now and then, until the garlic is soft and fragrant (you don’t want the garlic to brown or become crisp, so decrease the heat if necessary). Transfer half the oil, chiles, and garlic to a small bowl, leaving the rest in the pan. Add the shallots to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until soft and translucent. Add the blitzed tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, cardamom, cumin, lime zest, and 1 tsp salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring a few times. Add the water, bring to a gentle simmer, and then cook for 5 minutes.
4. Transfer the sweet potatoes, browned-side up, to the pan of sauce (not all of them will fit in the sauce, but that’s fine, just pile them up haphazardly). Decrease the heat to low, cover, and continue to cook for 10 minutes.
5. Mix the dill and lime juice with the reserved chile and garlic oil and drizzle over the sweet potatoes. Serve from the pan, with the lime wedges alongside.