Sweet potato steaks

Introducing my (current) favourite sweet potato recipe: roasted thick steak-like slabs of sweet potato served with a whipped tahini sauce and a garlicky-sesame-chilli topping for a Middle Eastern inspired MEATY meatless dinner!

Sweet potato steaks

Named as such because the thick slices of sweet potato kind of remind me of meaty steaks, I love this recipe because it uses economical sweet potatoes to make a really tasty, satisfying meat-free dinner that’s something a little different. Here in Sydney, you can even find “imperfect” sweet potato for as little as 99c/kg ($0.50/lb, GBP0.50/kg).

Cut thick slabs, roasted until tender then dig into it with a knife and fork like you would a rib-eye.

Though, today’s “steaks” are dressed up a whole lot more than I do with beef steaks! A generous smear of tahini yogurt, and a glittering, sizzling topping of garlic, sesame seeds, green and red cayenne peppers. STELLAR flavour combination!

Meet the players in todays’ recipe!

1. Slabs of sweet potato roasted with a simple spice mix until golden on the surface and tender inside.

2. The garlic-sesame-chilli topping.

3. The Whipped Tahini Yogurt (well, it’s just whisked, but “whipped” sounds better 😂)

4. Crunchy toasted flatbread for dunking! (Optional)

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make these meaty meatless steaks. I have an easy alternative for the topping if you need to speed things up. But don’t skip the Tahini Yogurt Sauce or the seasoning for the sweet potato!

A BIG SWEET POTATO & SEASONING

• Large sweet potato – We need a large one because we will be cutting 2 thick steaks from the centre of it. If you don’t have a large one, don’t fret! Just make more smaller ones. 🙂

• Seasoning – Nothing unusual here, just all my usual players. I like to use smoked paprika because it’s got a lovely….well, smokey flavour. 😂 But you can just substitute with ordinary paprika.

WHIPPED TAHINI YOGURT

“Whipped” is an elaborate name for something that takes 20 seconds to whisk!! 😂 I use the name as a clue of the texture which is more light and fluffy than a basic yogurt sauce. It’s almost like soft whipped cream.

• Plain yoghurt – Not sweetened, and not flavoured.

• Tahini – Paste made with sesame seeds. Usually found in the health food aisle at grocery stores. Use hulled tahini (more common), not un-hulled which is darker and more bitter. The jar label will specify which it is.

  Use Chinese sesame paste as a sub if you have leftovers from other recipes I’ve shared, like this one or this one!

• Lemon – For tangy lemon flavour.

• Garlic – Because it makes it tastier. Finely grate it using a microplane so you don’t have big lumps in the sauce.

TOPPING (OR NOT)

This garlicky, oniony, sesame topping speckled with non-spicy flecks of green and red chilli adds interest, colour and flavour to this sweet potato dish. But on nights when it’s all too hard, I’ll give this a miss and just use a handful of store-bought Crispy Asian Shallots. Crispy, oily and salty, it works a treat as a finishing touch!

• Shallot (US: eschalot) – Also known as French onions, they look like baby onions but have purple-skinned flesh, are finer and sweeter. Not to be confused with what some people in Australia call “shallots” ie the long green onions. Substitute with same amount of finely minced red onion.

• Cayenne peppers – the large chilies that are not very spicy at all once deseeded. They provide a warm hum! If you’re concerned, leave it out and substitute with 1 tsp each coriander seeds and cumin seeds. Different flavour profile but they will bring something else to the dish to compensate.

• Garlic – Finely minced and fried up until golden, it adds a stack of flavour to this topping!

• Toasted pine nuts – For sprinkling on at the end. Substitute with other nuts: pistachios (love the green colour and flavour!), almonds, pepitas, sunflower seeds.

• Coriander/cilantro – For a fresh finish and also for colour. Coriander haters can substitute with parsley or chives, but for me, I really like coriander for these Middle Eastern flavours.

How to make Sweet Potato Steaks

This recipe kind of reminds me of a salad – the ingredients list looks lengthy but the making part is low effort!

COOKING THE SWEET POTATO STEAKS

1. Sweet potato cutting – Using a sharp knife, cut a small slice off one end so you can stand the sweet potato upright, stable.

2. Cut the cheeks off, then cut two x 1.8cm/0.7″ thick steaks from the middle that are flat on each side. Ignore my very specific steak size guide (1.8 cm thick, 17 cm long, 7 cm wide (0.7 x 6.5 x 2.75″), just cut whatever you can using the sweet potato you have!

   Too hard? If cutting steaks standing the potato upright is too hard, just cut 1.8cm/0.7″ thick rounds and make sweet potato “filet mignon”!! Depending on your potato size, you should be able to make 4 to 6.

3. Rub with just 2 teaspoons of olive oil then sprinkle with the seasoning mix.

4. Bake at 200°C/400°F (180°C fan-forced) for 45 – 50 minutes or until tender. Don’t flip – we want good colour on the surface.

TOPPING, SAUCE & ASSEMBLING

1. Whipped tahini yogurt sauce – Put the ingredients in a heatproof bowl and whisk to combine. Microwave for 20 seconds, then whisk again for 10 seconds – it will be like soft whipped cream. Serve straight away or at room temp.

2. Toast the pine nuts in a dry small pan until they have golden patches, become shiny with oil and smell amazing. Remove immediately into a bowl.

3. Topping – Heat the oil then sauté all the Topping ingredients for a few minutes until the garlic is golden.

4. Assemble – Smear sauce on a plate.

5. Still assembling… Place the sweet potato on top.

6. Almost finished…. Sprinkle with Topping, pine nuts, coriander/cilantro then a swish of olive oil. A pinch of sumac wouldn’t go astray either, if you’ve got some (lovely lemony red spice used in Middle Eastern / Mediterranean cooking). Now it’s ready to EAT!!