Healthy Eats: Spiced Sweet Potato Wedges with Yogurt Dipping Sauce

By Trish Coffman

Getting the right nutrients is often all about the right combinations. Here, sweet potatoes are combined with a little olive oil and low-fat yogurt.

The resulting snack or side dish hits the spot, but it’s also an antioxidant delivery system: sweet potatoes are a concentrated source of the antioxidant beta-carotene (it aids recovery), and that beta-carotene is more readily absorbed by the body when combined with a little fat. Try leaving the skins on – they’re loaded with good stuff, too.

You will need:
2 lbs red-skinned sweet potatoes
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp each ground cumin, coriander and dried oregano
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ C low-fat yogurt
1 lg clove garlic, minced
¼ tsp smoked paprika
juice of ½ lime
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

Place a foil-lined baking sheet in the oven (set the rack about a third up from the bottom) and preheat it to 475 degrees. Cut the sweet potatoes into large, equal-sized wedges. In a large bowl, combine just 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the spices, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and several grinds black pepper. Add sweet potato wedges and toss to combine.

Remove the heated baking sheet from the oven and place the wedges evenly onto the baking sheet, then place it into the oven and roast for 20 to 25 minutes, flipping the sweet potatoes halfway through cooking. Sweet potatoes are done when they are golden to dark brown in spots.

While sweet potatoes cook, make the dipping sauce. Heat the remaining tablespoon olive oil in a small frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and paprika and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds or so. Whisk the flavored oil into the yogurt in a small bowl, then add the lime juice 1 teaspoon at a time to taste (how much you use will depend on how tangy the yogurt was to begin with). Add the chopped parsley or cilantro and salt and pepper to taste.