Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

I love the way a lime smells, and for this reason am drawn to find ways to use them more in my kitchen. So when I decided to make a big pot of simmered black beans to eat with homemade flour tortillas (recipes here), the table needed a little something extra.

I stumbled upon this recipe on my Epicurious iPhone app when I was searching for a way to use the sweet potatoes that were delivered in my vegetable box. With lime and cilantro as the key ingredients, I knew it would be perfect to go alongside the beans.

I once thought I was making progress in my efforts to help Andrew appreciate sweet potatoes, but I'm now very, very close to giving up alltogether. Even these, the light-skinned, non-orange variety, were, as he put it, “too sweet for his taste.” I’m not sure there is much hope left. But that shouldn't stop you from eating them, or me, on the occasional nights when I'm cooking for one.

GRILLED SWEET POTATOES WITH CILANTRO LIME VINAIGRETTE

The recipe makes 16 servings. I used four sweet potatoes to serve two as a side dish, and we still had several left over (great for lunch the next day).

Recipe slightly adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

4 lb sweet potatoes (8; preferably long)

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Cover potatoes with cold salted water in a large pot, then bring to a boil. Simmer until slightly resistant in center when pierced with a sharp small knife, 25 to 30 minutes, then transfer to a large bowl of cold water to stop cooking. Drain well. When cool enough to handle, peel potatoes with a sharp small knife and quarter lengthwise.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. In the meantime, pulse together cilantro, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a food processor, and add oil in a slow stream until combined.

Grill potatoes in 2 or 3 batches, turning, until grill marks appear and potatoes are just tender, 3 to 6 minutes total.

Serve potatoes warm or at room temperature, drizzled with vinaigrette.