Grandma Pendarvis

Sweet potatoes have long been a staple in Southern households including the home I grew up in. Grandma Pendarvis used to grow rows and rows of them in her garden and would lay them out in the sun to “cure”.  She grew some of the biggest sweet potatoes in Mobile County and was even featured in our local newspaper once.

Sweet potatoes are great baked with butter and a little brown sugar, but I’ve found they are also really good when mixed with fresh sage.

Cubed, uncooked sweet potatoes tossed with sage, salt, olive oil, and black pepper

Ingredients:

• 5-6 or more medium sweet potatoes depending on the size of your pan.
• 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil
• 3-4 tablespoons of fresh chopped sage depending on your love of sage
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°.  Cut potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes.  Chop sage.  Toss cubed potatoes with the olive oil, sage, black pepper, and salt in a baking dish or iron skillet.  Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes or so until a fork easily passes through a cubed potato.  Toss one more time before serving, and add salt and pepper if needed. Remember, you can always add salt but not take it away, so be careful not to over salt when initially applying.

I prefer to use an iron skillet that has a fitted lid when cooking this dish.  I also use a chardonnay smoked salt instead of regular sea salt.  If you’re cooking for a special holiday or event, use unsalted butter instead of olive oil.