I’ve got a confession to make. I’ve been absolutely obsessed with cooking in cast iron lately. It’s partly because I’m so in love with Francis Mallman’s cookbook “7 Fires,” where he shows us Argentinian grilling techniques of grilling over a Chapa, which is like cooking on a griddle over a big wood fire.
The closest substitute for his cooking method is cooking on a cast iron skillet over your desired heat source. I’ve also been REALLY in love with campfire cooking and have even been cooking on my Weber fire pit. And when the weather is crappy, using my skillet on the stove too. Imagine that!
So now I bring you skillet smashed sweet potatoes. Why smashed? Because the sweet potatoes caramelize and get crispy in the skillet and that makes them “Give Me a Second Helping Please!”, delicious, without having to add much of anything to them!
As many of you know, I’ve been eating #Paleo lately and sweet potatoes are an acceptable starch so I am enjoying the hell out of these and I guarantee you will too. Roast the potatoes when you have time (I like to do it in my toaster oven- it cooks them so fast), then finish them in the skillet fried in coconut oil. The more edges exposed to the cast iron, the more crispy edges!
Print
Skillet Smashed Sweet Potatoes
- Yield: serves 2
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 2–3 tbsp coconut oil
- Sea salt, to taste
- Fresh ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Drizzle sweet potatoes with coconut oil and then roast them in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until tender in the middle.
- Let the sweet potatoes cool for a few minutes, then slice into 1/2 rounds.
- Fry in coconut oil in a medium/high heat cast iron skillet until edges become crispy. Take your spatula and press down on the rounds and smash them into the pan to get the edges crispy.
- Sprinkle with sea salt, pepper and a drizzle of coconut oil. Enjoy with abandon!
Notes
Serving ideas: I have eaten these on their own as a side, they are also great tossed with arugula, toasted pecans, and orange sections for a light salad.
Did you enjoy these skillet smashed potatoes? Check out these delicious ideas!
Hi Robyn,
the 7 Fires book is awesome! The whole parilla style grilling over a hardwood fire thing has really taken me. I haven’t tried a chapa/skillet yet though.
Cheers
Hi Simon, I agree, it is my favorite.I actually just bought a copy for my dad for his Birthday.
This sounds so good, I love sweet potatoes! I need to get a cast iron skillet..
I love sweet potatoes! Now I just need to get a cast iron skillet..
Shaina- Cast Iron is a great way to add a lot of flavor and nice char to ordinary foods. It takes them from average to extraordinary!