Jamaican-inspired Sticky Sweet Potatoes

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I’m all for tradition—Thanksgiving, after all, is my all-time favorite holiday and also happens to be the most traditional meal most Americans enjoy together—but for me, some of the meal traditions are tired. So I’m here to shake things up in the flavor department, starting with these sweet potatoes.

For many years, I made a sweet potato casserole that had brown sugar and eggs and cream and buttery layers of pecan crumble and everyone loved it. But it was so sweet that one year when I took it to a potluck, the organizer peeked under the cover and put it on the dessert table. True story. And no wonder, with 2/3 cup sugar in the sweet potato mixture and 3/4 cup sugar in the topping. In an 8-serving side dish?! Let’s not even discuss the amount of butter because it’s clogging my arteries just thinking about it.

Still, I made this over-the-top dish year after year after year because the people I was feeding at the time expected it. “Tradition,” and all that jazz. After some time, I got bored and started zhuzhing it up with a splash of booze, mainly to amuse myself. I incorporated a shot of Grand Marnier at first, because orange is a natural pairing with sweet potato. And then I tried it with bourbon because, well, bourbon. As you can imagine, neither did much to tamp down the cloying richness of that dish, which has since been banished to the darkest depths of my recipe box.

Yes, it is tradition to indulge on Thanksgiving, but what did fiber-rich, perfectly nutritious sweet potatoes ever do to deserve being drowned in a sea of saturated fat and then crusted up with so much sugar?

In recent years— and especially since the launch of Comfort du Jour— I have enjoyed twisting up the classics and traditional foods, and I’m thrilled to be married to a man who enjoys the variations as much as I do. For last year’s table, I presented these sticky sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving, and they were a hit! Yes, there is some brown sugar in the recipe, but a far cry from the amount in my old standard. And this one has zero saturated fat from butter, milk, eggs or cream.

These beauties are spiced up with flavors that remind me of Jamaica—bold and balanced with sweet, spicy, savory and herbal notes—a combination I loved when I visited the island many years ago. The flavors play up the natural goodness of sweet potato without overwhelming. I created a blend of brown sugar (only 1/3 cup for this 8-serving batch, but you could use as little as 1/4 cup), kosher salt, sweet Spanish paprika, allspice, cinnamon and freshly ground black pepper. In place of butter, extra virgin olive oil; specifically, I used a specialty oil that is whole-fruit fused with blood orange. You can find this at one of the olive oil and balsamic boutiques that have popped up everywhere.

I arranged them in a single layer and roasted them at 350° for about 30 minutes, then turned them over, sprinkled more of the spice blend and roasted 15 more minutes. By this time, the sweet potatoes were tender and essentially done, but dinner wasn’t. So I left the baking sheet on the countertop, covered loosely with foil. When I was ready to serve them, the sweet potatoes got sprinkled with the last pinches of the spice blend and went under the broiler for about one minute, just enough to heat them through and caramelize that sticky spicy coating.

The timing worked out perfectly, as they only needed a quick blast of high heat at the end, and then a quick transfer to a serving platter where I decorated them with fresh thyme leaves and sent them to the table.

These Jamaican-inspired sweet potatoes are a nice change of pace with a big punch of flavor and no guilt. Yes, I’ll take these any day—Thanksgiving or otherwise!

Jamaican-inspired Sticky Sweet Potatoes

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: Average
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These are no ordinary candied sweet potatoes! The island-inspired seasonings, especially the allspice, lend an unexpected flair to a Thanksgiving day standard.


Ingredients

  • 3 pounds fresh sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
  • 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (see recipe notes below)
  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup brown sugar, depending on your sweet tooth
  • 1 tsp. sweet (Spanish) paprika
  • 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • About 20 twists of freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, for garnish

Note: If you have a specialty olive oil store, I like the blood orange-fused oil for this recipe. The citrus essence makes the island-inspired spices even more aromatic and addictive.

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 F, with rack in center position. Line a large, rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Combine brown sugar and seasonings in a small bowl and set it aside.
  3. Put thick slices of sweet potato in a large bowl and drizzle olive oil over them, tossing to coat evenly. Sprinkle half of the seasoning blend over the sweet potatoes and toss again. Arrange the slices in a single layer on the parchment-lined sheet.
  4. Roast for 30 minutes. Remove pan from oven and carefully turn each sweet potato slice. Sprinkle half of the remaining spice mix over the second side of the sweet potatoes and roast 15 more minutes, or until potatoes are tender enough to pierce with a fork.
  5. Remove from oven and let the sweet potatoes rest a few minutes; tent loosely with foil and set aside as long as needed while you prepare other dinner items. If you need to refrigerate them overnight, put remaining spice mixture in a bowl and set it aside; pick up with Step 6. If you plan to finish the sweet potatoes now, skip to Step 7.
  6. Remove chilled sweet potatoes from refrigerator at least one hour before proceeding with the recipe.
  7. Remove foil and turn sweet potatoes over. Sprinkle with remaining amount of spice mixture and broil on high for 1 to 2 minutes (watch so it doesn’t burn!), to re-heat the potatoes and caramelize the sticky spice coating. Transfer sweet potatoes to a serving platter and sprinkle with thyme leaves. Serve warm.

“Air Fryer” Jerk Chicken Wings

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After much discussion, and consideration of all the newfound extra space in our remodeled kitchen, my husband and I have finally decided for certain on the matter of an air fryer.

Several of our friends with air fryers have extolled the virtues of their machines and enticed us with descriptions of the ultra-crispy and mouthwatering dishes they have produced with them. We got the rundown on the various styles and sizes and functions, and even made a special trip to Williams-Sonoma to compare the features for ourselves and measure and imagine exactly where we’d put such a device in our newly remodeled kitchen.

And after all that planning and considering, our final decision was that, well, we didn’t need one after all.

Most of the foods our friends described were not the kind of things we imagined we’d really make at home (though crispy French fries with minimal oil sounds pretty darn good), and when we really dug in to learn how air fryers work, we realized that we already have a version of an air fryer in our full-sized electric convection oven. If we use the convect-roast or convect-bake setting, in combination with a higher temperature, the effect is nearly the same as in an air fryer, at least for the foods we expected we would actually make. And to prove it (to ourselves as much as anyone else), we made these crispy chicken wings, using a tried-and-true method I learned from Food Network’s Alton Brown.

Tons of spicy flavor, without all the grease or drippy sauce of the usual Buffalo wings.

This method differs from others because it involves first steaming and chilling the wings, a process which renders excess skin fat so that better crisping can take place in the oven. No oil is required because there is plenty of natural fat remaining in the chicken skin. Roasting them at high temperature further tightens the skin, and you are left with a crispy-crunchy exterior and tender, juicy meat inside.

With football’s biggest game only days away, I thought it would be appropriate to share a different kind of wing recipe—one that packs plenty of flavor and as much heat as you want, but without the same old “Buffalo” flavors. These wings are covered in Jamaican jerk seasoning, featuring allspice, scallions, scotch bonnet peppers and brown sugar, which may sound complex, but I used a ready-made jerk rub that is easy to find in stores. The flavors are intense but not overpoweringly hot, and because we like to dip our wings into a dip or sauce, I made an easy mango and red pepper chutney to go with them.

I’ve made steamed and roasted wings before, but without convection and usually for my Just South of Buffalo Wings (which are still a favorite at our house). We also have done the jerk flavor wings many times, but usually on the grill during the summer months. This time, we combined methods and flavors and put the convection method to the test. As you’ll see, it passed with flying colors, and the convection chopped nearly 15 minutes off the previous steamed-and-roasted recipe. No need for one more appliance here!

This recipe is written for 16 pieces, but it should be very easy to double or triple as needed.

Ingredients

8 whole chicken wings (trimmed and cut into flats and drummettes if desired)

4 Tbsp. prepared jerk rub (a wet version from a jar)

2 Tbsp. canola, avocado or peanut oil (to thin the jerk rub)

1 Tbsp. light brown sugar

1 Tbsp. dark rum (preferably Jamaican)

This brand of jerk seasoning is authentic and made in in Jamaica. It’s a wet rub, and available in mild or hot varieties.
This is the real-deal good stuff. I got my first taste of it on a trip to Ocho Rios, Jamaica and have loved it ever since.

Mango-Red Pepper Chutney

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

2 scallions, chopped (white and green parts)

Kosher salt and black pepper

1/2 cup mango, chopped (fresh or frozen, thawed)

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp. dark Jamaican rum

Instructions

  • Alton Brown’s method of steaming the wings first is brilliant! A portion of the skin fat renders off in this process, lending to crispy skin later.
  • See the steam rolling off? Spread the wings out onto a lined cookie tray and refrigerate them for at least an hour, or up to overnight.
  • Set the oven for convection baking and slide in the wings.
  • After 15 minutes, the wings already have some crisping going on. Turn them over and give them another 10 to 15 minutes.
  • To thin out the jerk seasoning and reduce saltiness, I added two tablespoons canola oil and a splash of the Jamaican rum.
  • The brown sugar I added to the jerk glaze did not produce the sticky results I expected, but it was a nice bit of sweetness against the savory jerk.
  • From the oven, my wings were every bit as crispy as they’d be after deep frying, but without all the oil.
  • Toss the wings in the jerk sauce to coat evenly. This was the moment I wished I had taken time to cut off the wing tips, as they made it difficult to toss the wings.
  • I had to spoon the rest of the jerk glaze onto the wings for a final quick crisping.
  • Tons of spicy flavor, without all the drippy sauce of the usual Buffalo wings.
  1. Set a lidded steamer basket over a pot with about two inches of water and bring it to a low boil.
  2. Spray the basket with oil and arrange the chicken wings in it, overlapping them so that the rising steam can permeate the whole batch. Cover the steamer and keep at a low boil for about 10 minutes.
  3. Transfer the steamed wings to a parchment-lined baking sheet and rest until they are cooled to near-room temperature. Cover and refrigerate the wings for at least one hour or up to overnight.
  4. Preheat oven to 425° F on a convection setting, with oven rack in the center position. Spray a cookie cooling rack with oil and set over a foil-lined cookie sheet. Arrange wings on rack, with space between the pieces to allow easy air flow.
  5. Convect-roast for 15 minutes (or regular roast for 20 minutes). While wings are roasting, make the mango-pepper chutney.
  6. After 15 minutes, turn wings to roast the other side 15 more minutes (or 20 for regular roast setting). The wings should be nicely browned all over and the skin on the wings should appear tight but not too dry.
  7. During the second half of roasting, combine jerk wet rub seasoning, canola oil, brown sugar and rum in a large bowl. Whisk until evenly combined.
  8. Toss wings in the bowl of jerk rub, spooning the seasoning over any unglazed areas. Return the wings to the rack on the cookie sheet and roast about 3 more minutes to set the glaze in the oven.
  9. Serve immediately with the mango-pepper chutney.

Mango-Red Pepper Chutney Instructions

  • For only a small batch of wings, I used half a red bell pepper and two scallions. Adjust accordingly for a larger batch.
  • Saute the peppers and scallions until softened, and then add the cut-up bits of mango.
  • Chutney needs sugar, and I used brown sugar, in keeping with the Jamaican theme of the wings.
  • Chutney also needs acid, and I used a splash of red wine vinegar. Cider vinegar would also have been good.
  • To keep the Jamaican vibe going, I also splashed in a bit of dark Jamaican rum. No problem, mon.
  1. Place a small saucepan over medium heat. Swirl in oil and saute peppers and scallions, just long enough to soften them. Season with salt and pepper.
  2. Add the cut-up mango pieces and stir until the mixture is heated through. Stir in brown sugar, vinegar and rum. When mixture begins to bubble, reduce heat and cover, simmering until thickened. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
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