Easter Sweets (Potatoes)

I celebrate Easter with my sister, her family and her in-laws at their family's place outside of Groesbeck, Texas (don't blink during the drive - you'll miss it.) My brother-in-law's family is seriously high energy and a lot of fun. It's non-stop games and entertainment with lots of kids and extended family.

In all the excitement, meals can be a challenge to organize. I mean, who really wants to stop playing kickball to cook! But muster out an Easter dinner we did on Saturday night. We made ribs, so I brought some vegetables to throw on the grill (I bought them at the store since the selection was limited at the market) and made a great salad with beautiful butter lettuce, onions and carrots I picked up at the Wednesday farmers market.

But my favorite of the vegetable dishes was a sweet potato dish I made. I found this recipe several years ago on epicurious.com and it completely changed how I felt about sweet potatoes.

When I was growing up, sweet potatoes were the goopy, sweet, marshmallowy mess that you served at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I am not a fan of that preparation. Not until a few years ago did I find out that I like sweet potatoes - that they taste good when not drowning in goop and that they are healthy and nutritious.

This dish brings out the natural sweetness, has a spicy kick and is still healthy. It's also easy to make so you can have it any night of the week. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. The sweet potatoes and cilantro came from the market; the lime and spices came from the store.

As a side note, the family did get distracted and I had already made the potatoes so they sat for a while and we served them cool. The dish actually worked pretty well as a "potato salad." Just don't reheat it after you put the cilantro on it because it will wilt.

Cilantro Lime Sweet Potatoes

2 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh lime zest
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 425°F.

Toss sweet potatoes with 2 tablespoons oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a shallow baking pan. Arrange potatoes in 1 layer and roast, stirring halfway through roasting, until tender, about 25 minutes total.

Stir together cayenne, zest, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl.

Whisk together lime juice and remaining tablespoon oil in a medium bowl, then add potatoes.

Sprinkle with cayenne mixture and cilantro, stirring gently to combine.